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One health insurance company should in Slovakia arise later as originally planned Robert Fico. According to forthcoming transformation act, insurance companies will be merged into one in January 2015. The previous statements of the Minister of Health Zuzana Zvolenska showed that the main terms would not delay. According to spokeswomen of ministry, specific dates will ministry published in interdepartmental comment procedure. Transformation Act, which would have been payable from May, was not officially presented. Similarly, the tender for consultant has not begun. It should to come to an end in April.

Hospital physicians’ salaries will absolutely rise. President Ivan Gasparovič signed an amendment to the Health Insurance Act. According to it, a doctor with specialization will from January 2013 earn 2.3 times the average wage, doctor without specialization about 1.25 times the average wage. Overall, increasing will cost more than 30 million per year. Hospital, however, do not have needed sources and most of them are in indebted. Ministry of Health rejects additional subsidization. The same amendment also introduces a new product in the reimbursement of health care abroad - patients no longer need approval from their insurance company before planned outpatient procedure.

The European Commission has ordered Slovakia to verify the payment of over 2.8 million, which were intended for healthcare. Failure to do so will lose money. The reason is probably misconducts in public procurement. The April audit on Operational Programme Health was focused just on the competition. The Ministry of Health will now have to refute the doubts of Brussels within six months. The resort of Zuzana Zvolenska did not specify what errors Brussels revealed. Healthcare is not the only area that faces the negative decision of Brussels. At the beginning of the year were also suspended funding of projects under the Operational Programme Transport. The reason should be the fundamental error of the Ministry of Transport under the leadership of Jan Figel.

The Ministry of Health has been delayed three quarters of the year with the adoption of legislation, which is a condition to implement the new payment mechanism for hospitals, the so-called DRG (Diagnoses Related Groups) system. Originally, the ministry should have approved a decree which provides a list of medical procedures necessary for the further progress of the project in October last year. The term could not be observed, because the list of performances has not been finished. In February, the Healthcare Surveillance Authority, which covers the process of introducing DRG, announced that the list is ready. However, the Ministry has not approved the decree till today. According to Authority, the decree is prepared and its estimated force was established on October this year.

Two-thirds of competitions that make Slovak hospitals are with only one candidate. In the Czech Republic there are more. While in tenders in our hospitals are on average two bidders, in the Czech Republic are three. In public procurement for medical supplies have Slovak hospitals an average of 1.4 candidates, while Czech hospitals have up to 4.2 candidates. Slovakia on comparison with the Czech is also worse in comparing the top ten procurers. Just in one hospital was the average number of bids in the tender more than two. In contrast, in the ten largest hospital procurers in Czech Republic have on averages per one procurement more than two offers.

By 11 July 2012 Constitutional Court suspended the effect of law, which has brought nurses and midwives higher wages since April last year. Almost a year after, in July 2013, the Plenum of the Constitutional Court decided that the law on minimum wage claims of nurses and midwives is not in accordance with the Constitution of the Slovak Republic. Prosecution, inter alia do not like that law positively discriminates nurses in comparison with other health care professionals. General Prosecutor's Office reacted by this step to the initiative of the Slovak Medical Chamber. Activity of doctors, who have challenged the law on raising salaries of nurses and midwives, can turn against them. President of the Association of Hospitals Marian Petko in response to this verdict acknowledged that the same stimulus after this precedent can be given to higher wages of doctors.

Inpatient doctors would see the third stage of increasing their salaries. Members of Parliament have approved an amendment to the Health Insurance Act. Change in legislation regulates the third stage of raising salaries of doctors, which is divided on the years 2014 and 2015. Increased salaries for doctors will require 19.3 million euros next year. A year later, this amount will rise to more than 36.6 million euros. A doctor with specialization should in the next year earn a total of at least 20.261 euros, and then from 2015 at least 22.715 euros per year. His colleague without specialization should earn next year salary not below 12.060 per year. 

New amendment on Law on the protection of non-smokers is entering into force. At first, amendment allowed total ban on smoking in shopping malls, parliamentarians, however, disagreed with it. Smoking in malls thus do not stops, but it will be allowed only in areas separate by construction. The legal standard also brings a new definition of mass caterers. According to amendment is it each device, which not only produces and prepares foods, but the food is also brought into it. So, rules to protect non-smokers are also related to the confectioneries. The amendment introduced also stricter penalties. For violations of the law will be public health authorities able to impose a fine of 500 to 15.000 euros.

Health insurance companies last year returned to policyholders by the safeguard limit payments for drugs of 2.1 million euro. Overall, supplements were sent back to more than 100.000 people. Insurance companies returned overpayments for the first three quarters of last year and the last quarter of 2011. According to Healthcare Surveillance Authority, the highest payment that was returned was in amount 1043.86 euro. Most payments have returned the largest General Health Insurance Company. According to the amendment of the Act that is in force since April 2011, entitlement to repayment surcharges begins if a quarter payments for pharmaceuticals exceeds the limit 45 euros for pensioners and € 30 for severely disabled person by more than three euros.

The Luxembourg court regulated the attachment of Slovak assets in the amount of € 29.5 million. The money that is presently on multiple accounts in Luxembourg banks should be put in a special account, where stay out of the reach of the Slovak Republic. Execution applied Netherlands company Achmea, owner of health insurance company Union, after it has won the arbitral tribunal with the Slovakia in December 2012 due to prohibition on profits. Ministry of Finance argues that the state does not miss the money, until it is just “locked”, money still belongs to Slovakia. Slovakia requested the annulment of the arbitral tribunal in Germany, but tribunal has not decided yet.