Tag: health insurance companies

According to Minister of Health, Zuzana Zvolenská, the profit does not belong to health insurance companies and also thus it would be good for Slovakia to have only one health insurance company. Minister wants to deal with the profit of insurance companies highly expertly, not politically. She therefore promised that objective proposal will be submitted only in case, if it is in accordance with the Constitution and international legislation. 

Statements about the profit prohibition of the insurance companies may be allegedly used against the Slovak Republic. According to advocate Jana Martinková, in case when implementation of the planned measures in legislation sphere will affect the property rights of the shareholders of health insurance companies and there will be further disputes with state, exactly these statements may be used against Slovakia. Shareholders might, according to her, be able to speak about the intention to harm their rights and the real public interest and protection of constitutional rights of policyholders might be unnecessarily pushed into the background. 

Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa (General Health Insurance Company) could get more money from new way of risk-adjusted redistribution of insurance contributions between health insurance companies for the first time in October this year. This should by brought by the amendment to the Act on health insurance submitted to the Parliament by Richard Raši. Risk adjustment should be calculated by the Healthcare Surveillance Authority.

Although Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa – VšZP (General Health Insurance Company) offered additional sources to some hospitals. In last year, however, VšZP spent on hospitals 8% less than the year before. While in 2010 the VšZP's costs on inpatient health care reached more than € 815 million, last year it was only € 752 million. The biggest health insurance company decreased its expenses also on pharmaceuticals in 2011, aproximately by the same rate. Otherwise, costs on outpatient care and medical devices increased, in both cases by about 4%.

Management of hospital in Poprad signed a new contract with health insurance company Dôvera. Hospital will thus provide the Dôvera policyholders not only with acute care, but also with the planned operations. After publishing in central register of contracts the contract will enter into force on Saturday, April 14th. According to the director of hospital the new contract conditions constitutes the compromise between insurance company and hospital.

Representatives of hospital in Poprad and health insurance company Dôvera negotiated on the new contract again. Both sides are allegedly finalizing the last details of agreement and are preparing themselves for its conclusion. Hospital in Poprad is from April the 1st non-contractual provider of health care for Dôvera policyholders. Hospital in Poprad is the only one healthcare institution which did not make an agreement with Dôvera on a new contract. 

Prime Minister Robert Fico asked Minister of Health Zuzana Zvolenská to prepare the legal measure, which would limit the opportunity of profit-making for health insurance companies in accordance with the Constitution as well as with international law. Profit-making has currently two conditions. First one is an obligation to use the profit for creating of reserve fund and second one is mandatory making of reserves for payments of patients on waiting lists.

Redistribution of health insurance contributions should be adjusted by a new parameter – morbidity (through PCG). This should be one of the system solutions which minister Zuzana Zvolenská wants to implement in the effort to find money for higher salaries of healthcare professionals. Contributions from policyholders are currently redistributed by Health Care Surveillance Authority on the basis of age, sex and economic activity of patients. Adding the predictor of morbidity would allegedly mean that the state-owned Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa (General Health Insurance Company) would get additional € 30 million from private health insurance companies. 

Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa – VšZP (General Health Insurance Company) reached for first two months of this year the profit in amount of € 31.5 million. Currently it meets the stringent requirements of solvency in the Act on health insurance companies. These will enter into force in July 2012. According to the spokeswoman the business and financial plan of insurance company assumes the modest growth of funds from health insurance as well as the costs of health care per policyholder. Plan also counts on the continued fulfilment of all solvency criteria set by the law.

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.