News

Clinic of vascular surgery at the Medical Faculty of Pavol Jozef Šafárik University and East Slovak Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Inc. organized at the end of last week the Symposium with international participation named Day of Vascular Surgery in Košice. The aim of expert event focused on carotid artery disease was not only the exchange of experiences and new knowledge in the field, but also the discussion on early detection of ischemic brain diseases and their prevention. This was a pilot event, as the symposium with such focus has not yet been held in Slovakia.

Several patient organizations are considering the future common proceeding by negotiations with Ministry of Health. As was pointed out by the representatives of patients on their common negotiation, the problems in health care persist even with new Government. According to Executive Director of the civic association Slovak Patient, Ján Mútal, the patient organizations necessarily need a unit platform. Patient organizations believe that such a step would bring them a representative in the Categorization Committee, which decides on the payments for pharmaceuticals and medical devices. 

Association of Hospitals in Slovakia has agreed with General Health Insurance Company (Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa) on continuation of contractual relationship as well as on the price conditions until the end of June next year. As informed by the President of the Association, Marián Petko, insurance company accepted their proposal by the bed treatment, where the contractual prices will remain on the same level as in the second half of this year, including the resources from € 50 million reserve. 

Result of this year's insurance change campaign, according to the Association of Health Insurance Companies, approved that Slovak policyholder prefers the private insurance companies and the option. According to the President of the Association, the result of the campaign is a clear message to politicians, that policyholder does not agree with the intention of cancellation of private insurance companies. She pointed out that in absolute numbers the state insurance company had the worst result, as it has lost almost 20 000 policyholders. Government should, according to her, take this result into account and reconsider the whole intention of introducing of unitary system of public health insurance.

Results of this year's changing of insurance companies are already known. According to the information published by Healthcare Surveillance Authority the possibility to change the insurance company was used by more than 187 000 people. Numbers showed that only insurance company, which has profited on changing of insurance companies, was Union. Union reports almost 30 000 new policyholders. General Health Insurance Company has lost around 19 000 policyholders, Dôvera has reported minus 11 000 policyholders. 

Self-governmental regions will no more decide on authorization for providing of hospital. Ministry of Health wants to take this task to itself. Currently, the Ministry has licensing power for issuing the permits for emergency medical service ambulances, specialized hospitals, research and tissue facilities, bio-banks and reference laboratories. From the beginning of new year also general hospitals, including faculty and university hospitals, should join these institutions. 

Even the advertising campaign for € 420 000 did not help the General Health Insurance Company (Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa) to increase the number of policyholders. Conversely, after this year's changing of health insurance companies it has almost 19 000 policyholders less. These numbers were confirmed by the Healthcare Surveillance Authority. Just this year the insurance companies had a last chance to allure clients on their side and thereby increase their value before planned transition to one state insurance company. 

General Health Insurance Company (Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa) and Union Health Insurance Company have offered the small and medium hospitals associated in the Association of Hospitals in Slovakia the same payments for next year, as they are getting this year. While the proposal of General Health Insurance Company was accepted by the Association, the offer of Union has been refused and Association is waiting for the next proposal. This offer was allegedly disadvantageous, as the proposal in the frame of bed health care was allegedly lower than in 2012.  

Ministry of Health do everything what it can to meet the statutory requirements of nurses. Head of the Ministry Zuzana Zvolenská this way responded to the concerns of nurses that they have been negotiating with Minister from March to no end. Slovak Chamber of Nurses and Midwives together with Trade Union of Nurses and Midwives formulated eight requirements and each one has designated its deadline. They do not exclude the mass deposing, but firstly they want to use other possibilities.  

Head of politician party KDH, Ján Figeľ, considers as noteworthy, that the day when Prime Minister Robert Fico designated the creation of unitary system as irreversible, partner of investment group Penta, which owns the health insurance company Dôvera, has attacked the opposition parties and not a Prime Minister. This should have become by the open letter sent by Eduard Maták from Penta to Chairmen of parties SDKÚ-DS, KDH and Most – Híd already in late October, in which he protested against the statements, which should have scandalized the payment of hundreds of millions of euro to the owners of private insurance companies.