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Payments for state policyholders should be increased to 4.32%. This results from the amendment of Jozef Valocký to the act on health insurance, which was submitted by Richard Raši. Originally the payment for state policyholders was on the level of 4%. This way the reserve in amount of € 50 million created by approving of state budget should get into the system until the end of 2012. Reserve should at least partially cover the lack of resources in health care system for higher salaries of nurses and doctors.

Loyalty systems in pharmacies are threatened. Ministry of Health wants to submit for public discussion the amendment to the act on pharmaceuticals in July. It should include also the cancellation of discount programs for clients loyal to one brand of public pharmacies. Loyalty discounts system is allegedly pushing the smaller pharmacies out of the market. Critics of this step claim that state also benefits from the loyalty programs. Minister of Health Zuzana Zvolenská wants to open also another reforms of pharmaceutical policy, which was last year enforced by former Minister Ivan Uhliarik.

Health insurance companies have to submit by June 30th to Ministry of Health the annual data on consumption of categorized pharmaceuticals for each policyholder for previous 3 years. Health insurance companies will submit to Ministry of Health by the end of June in electronic form also the data on annual costs of health insurance company on the health care for each policyholder for previous 2 years. This results from the announcement of the Ministry of Health, which provides the data interfaces for transmission of information.

Ministry of Health issued a statement to the declaration of the Trade Union of Nurses and Midwives, which has accused Ministry of Health of the inaction by problem solving with ensuring the salaries of nurses. Minister according to the statement sees the work of nurses in healthcare as an integral part of providing of health care and stressed on several meetings, that she cares about the financial flows in system to be used for covering of wage needs. Ministry of Health is willing to conduct the constructive dialogue, but, however, refuses any coercive action.

Healthcare Surveillance Authority (HSA) announced that it will initiate the complaint in the case of company, which is suspected from illegal earning on the export of tissues from dead donors abroad. HSA has terminated the contract with Company Tissue Research Institute in April. Suspicion arises from the fact that company, which had a permit from Ministry of Health for operation of tissue institution, did not process the tissues by itself and has not concluded the contract for processing of taken tissues with other healthcare provider. This happened despite the facts that act on health care commands it.

Management of Bardejov Spa expects this year an increasing of the visit rate on the level of 5-10%. According to the director in 2011 Spa recorded the sale in amount of € 7.989 million and profit before tax amounted to € 225 033. He added, that in last 20 months company invested into the reconstruction of buildings and equipment more than € 3.8 million, of which € 460 000 were grants from EU funds.

No relieving of debts of four hospitals in the scope of Žilina self-governmental region according to the President of the region, Juraj Blanár, causes further discrimination in the area of wage conditions of healthcare professionals. According to him the differences in salaries were caused by the legislation made in the times of former Minister of Health Ivan Uhliarik. He stressed that Žilina region has been long-termly adverting the differences in salaries of doctors and nurses in hospitals in the scope of region and state-owned hospitals.

Healthcare Surveillance Authority in the frame of commenting on the amendment to the act on health care proposes to introduce the regulation of the export of tissues abroad. This is the reaction to the recent case, when private tissue institution did not use the collected tissues for Slovak recipients, but exported them to other countries. Current legislation dealing with tissues does not content any conditions and restrictions of the export and import of tissues to other countries.  

Interests of nurses and midwives will be represented by new trade unions in the form of Trade Union of Nurses and Midwives. As the president of the Union Viliam Záborský was chosen, who works as a nurse at bedside in National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases in Bratislava. Nurses are currently represented by the Slovak Trade Union of Health and Social Services. According to Záborský, the only solution how nurses can fight for their dignified position in the society and to defend their status is the creation of their own trade union. 

L. Pasteur University hospital in Košice opened the workstation for preparation of issue and cell transplants. Costs on top-quality laboratories and outpatient clinics reached € 2.17 million and were financed from the EU funds. Construction works started in October last year. Costs on construction exceeded € 1.1 million and on medical and laboratory equipment reached more than € 1 million. Workstation meets the stringent European criteria and enables to develop and apply new scientific and treating procedures into the practice.