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Tag: financing
President Ivan Gašparovič and representatives of doctors, hospitals and trade unions agreed on their meeting that the situation in health care is extremely serious and requires acute solutions. According to the head of the state it is necessary to quickly amend the existing health laws and he also expects that state should increase the payment for its policyholders. Next week he will talk about the necessary steps with Minister of Health Zuzana Zvolenská.
From April, hospital in Poprad will provide only acute healthcare to the policyholders of the health insurance company Dôvera. Hospital did not make an agreement with the private health insurance company on the new contract conditions. As results from the statement of hospital, insurance company did not want to consider the needs of financing of health care in hospital and offered only 30% from the amount which hospital needs to cover the increased costs on salaries of doctors and nurses.
Association of Hospitals in Slovakia, which associates dozens of regional hospitals, for now did not make an agreement with private health insurance company Union on the adjustment of pricing conditions from April. Insurance company Union submitted the offer, which Association refused as inconvenient. Reportedly it does not consider the increased costs on the adjustment of salaries of doctors, neither the adjustment of salaries of nurses.
Hospitals of the Trnava self-governing region will respect the law and will increase the wages of nurses from April 1st. This will require in each of three regional hospitals in this year approximately € 1.5 million, together with increasing of salaries of doctors. According to the head of the region Tibor Mikuš this increasing can not be compensated with any measures in management, because the wage and payroll payments cost about 80% of hospital revenues. Increasing of salaries will, according to him, goes at the expense of indebtedness of hospitals.
Part of the debt of Hospitals and Clinics in Levice and Topoľčany will be paid by the Nitra self-governing region. The special-purpose loan in amount of € 940 000 should be used for covering of about the half of liabilities against the Slovak Gas Industry (Slovenský plynárenský priemysel). The delay in payment of previous loan in amount of € 400 000 should also help hospitals in their unfavourable financial situation. Self-governing region has provided financial resources to its hospitals several times in the past.
Experts from the Association of Suppliers of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices processed a detailed comparison of statistics on the real consumption of pharmaceuticals, development of the prices of pharmaceuticals in Slovakia and the impacts of pharmaceutical policy to the patients as well as to households. According to the statistics of Association the information about increasing consumption of pharmaceuticals in Slovakia allegedly seem to be targeted in order to push on the price policy of pharmaceutical companies. Experts claim that 2nd lowest price of pharmaceuticals in EU does not save money of patients, but, vice-versa, their supplementary charges are constantly rising and households are increasingly financing the Slovak healthcare.
Health insurance company Dôvera has made an agreement with representatives of providers on the contract and price terms from April 1st this year. Agreement applies on Zdravita, Slovak Medical Chamber, Slovak Chamber of Dentists, Association of Hospital in Slovakia and others. According to the largest private health insurance company on the market this is a prerequisite for its contractual relationship with doctors, hospitals and other providers to continue smoothly even after March 31st, when the current contracts will end.
Banská Bystrica region and representatives of non-state hospitals in this territorial scope are appealing to health insurance companies and competent authorities for the speedy solution of their impending collapse due to the statutory increase of wages of doctors and nurses. Required solution involves the submission of amendments to the contracts with insurance companies. These should, proportionally according to the representation of insurance companies in particular regions, fully cover the increased costs of hospitals on the wages of doctors and nurses in the form of lump-sum payment.
State-owned Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa (VšZP) prefers the private companies to public hospitals, according to daily Pravda. This applies in the case of MRI (magnetic resonance imagination). University hospital in Košice has been providing two magnetic resonances for couple of years, but from January this year the VšZP has a contract also with a private company there. This one receives more generous payments from VšZP than the hospital. While the monthly payment for two university departments are in the amount of € 75 000, private company is receiving € 125 000. The situation is similar also in Bratislava.
City hospital in Zlaté Moravce should get a contribution in amount of € 274 000 from the municipality this year. As results from the program budget of the hospital, this amount will be paid in monthly installments of € 22 833. Contribution will serve for additional financing of the salaries in hospital, which are its largest cost item and together with social security contributions represent 66% of all costs.
