—
Tag: financing
Healthcare institutions owed to the Social Insurance Company the unpaid premium by the end of June in amount of € 38.5 million. Compared to last year the debt increased by more than € 19.6 million. Receivables against state healthcare institutions reached € 19.6 million what is a half of the volume of receivable against all monitored institutions. Debts against transformed healthcare institutions by the end of June were in amount of € 18.8 million.
Employers' associations think that for maintaining of social peace in healthcare system more money should be inserted into it. Employers' associations informed on this opinion Minister of Health Zuzana Zvolenská at the departmental tripartite. President of the Association of Private Doctors, Ladislav Pásztor, admitted that talking about increasing of rate for state policyholders to 5% from the tax base may not be realistic for now, but there will be for sure more money needed.
Representatives of professional organizations operating in healthcare system are asking for ensuring of financing in the department in amount of minimum 5% payment for state policyholders. The aim of this step should be an ensuring of health care for the citizens of Slovakia. This results from the declaration of representatives of professional organizations adopted on Wednesday meeting at the Slovak Pharmaceutical Chamber.
Private health insurance company Dôvera has reported for the first half of this year historically lowest profit, € 200 000. This time last year this insurance company reached the profit in amount of € 18 million, by the end of last year it was € 39 million. Union health insurance company and Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa (General Health Insurance Company) got, compared to previous years, significantly better. Both insurance companies, however, deny that this was at the expense of unpaid care for patients.
Healthcare system is according to Minister Zuzana Zvolenská not only a black hole, in which money disappears, although she admits, that there never will be enough money. Currently besides negotiating with Minister of Finance about the reasonable amount of money for health care, Minister of Health addicts herself to the preparation for creation of unitary insurance system, analysis of charges in hospitals and clinics and examines whether to complete the hospital complex Rázsochy, or not.
More than € 4 billion should enter into the Slovak healthcare system next year. Compared to this year it will be € 153 million more. This amount will be, however, paid by those who duly pay the health contributions from their incomes. State plans to pay less for its policyholders. Payment for one state policyholder will decrease from current € 31.54 to € 31.44. Instead of current 4.33% of the average gross wage in 2010 state wants to pay exactly 4% of the average gross wage from 2011. Decreasing of the state payments is involved in preliminary proposal of the state budget for next year.
Healthcare professionals should next year get more money again. Former Government paid 4% for its policyholders and the same percentage is currently assumed also by the first proposal of the budget of actual Government. Healthcare system should totally get from the insurance and from state by almost 4% more than last year, what means more than € 150 million. It should be enough for covering of higher salaries of nurses and doctors. Estimations were about € 100 – 150 million per year.
Ministry of Health proposes the changes in pricing of pharmaceuticals brought by last-year pharmaceutical reform made by former Government. As results from the proposal of the amendment to the act on extent and conditions of payments for pharmaceuticals, their price in Slovakia should not be higher than an average of three lowest prices in European Union. This principle affects also the medical devices and dietary supplements. Previously the prices in Slovakia were set by comparing of six lowest prices in EU and according to this average they were determined for the domestic market.
Paediatricians are angry at former Minister Ivan Uhliarik and are asking for bringing a suit against him. The reason is a change in purchasing of vaccines adopted by the Ministry of Health at the end of last year. This was stated by the head of Section of Paediatricians of Slovak Medical Chamber, Katarína Šimovičová. While previously the vaccines were issued by the pharmacy to nurse or doctor on the prescription for a particular patient, from December last year they have to be purchased by doctors themselves. Doctors claim they do not have money for it.
Slovak Chamber of Pharmacists repeatedly fights against so called “loyalty systems”. Discounts and bonuses used in some pharmacies in the competitive struggle are, according to the Chamber, changing the consumer behaviour of patients. This is turning more to saving than to expertise of issuing of pharmaceutical. The fact that people are more looking at discounts than at the professionalism is also shown by the July survey of the agency Focus. According to it about 25% of regular visitors of pharmacies are following the bonuses.
