Tag: legislation

Smoking in shopping centres might be stopped. Businessmen are announcing the closing of coffeehouses. They claim that for companies and tradesmen providing cafes in these centres this will be liquidating. Ministry of Health is, however, decided to get though as according to the head of the Ministry, Zuzana Zvolenská, the number of children who are smoking is annually increasing. The definitive ban of smoking was already an object of discussion several times in the past. Last time it was in 2010, when it, however, did not pass again. 

Wage requirements were after doctors and nurses introduced also by physiotherapists. They would like to see their salaries on the level of € 650 to € 1 407 gross. This all should depend on education, attained specialization and number of years of experiences, where each 5 years of experiences would mean 5% increasing of salary. Physiotherapists developed the proposal partly from their own initiative and partly at the request of the Ministry of Health.

Head of politician party KDH, Ján Figeľ, considers as noteworthy, that the day when Prime Minister Robert Fico designated the creation of unitary system as irreversible, partner of investment group Penta, which owns the health insurance company Dôvera, has attacked the opposition parties and not a Prime Minister. This should have become by the open letter sent by Eduard Maták from Penta to Chairmen of parties SDKÚ-DS, KDH and Most – Híd already in late October, in which he protested against the statements, which should have scandalized the payment of hundreds of millions of euro to the owners of private insurance companies. 

Medical trade unions are arguing because of the amendment to the Labour Code, as it contains the exception, according to which doctors and nurses will be able to officially work 250 overtime hours. Despite the fact, that´s how it already worked in practice so far, act did not treat with the overtimes of healthcare professionals. Adjustment was made with the consent of Medical Trade Union of Healthcare, which has more than 23 000 members. Medical Trade Union and Medical Trade Union of Nurses and Midwives, however, do not like these changes.  

Trade Union of Nurses and Midwives accepted the amendment to the Labour Code, which should enter into force in January next year, with embarrassment. According to them, the amendment on one hand changes several provisions in favour of employees and trade unions, on the other hand, the healthcare professionals will be forced to work even more than ever, what nurses cannot accept.  Therefore they turned themselves with an open letter to President Ivan Gašparovič and asked him to turn the proposal of the amendment to the Labour Code to Parliament for renegotiation. 

Medical Trade Union is asking the President Ivan Gašparovič to turn the amended Labour Code back to the renegotiation of the Parliament. They explained their reasons to the President of Slovak republic in the open letter. Head of the Trade Union, Peter Visolajský, in its letter claims, that Labour Code consists of lot of special, disabling exceptions for doctors, which aim is to mask the lack of doctors in the healthcare system. 

On Wednesday was supported project of one insurance company by the Ministers from Fico's Government. Government for now approved only a project of implementation and adopted one comment. The schedule should be in first two points forwarded in two weeks. Ministry will only now start to prepare the concrete acts. They should, according to the schedule, enter into force in May next year. 

Intention of Government to create one health insurance company is probably unconstitutional, economically disadvantageous and against the patients. This was agreed by the leaders of People's Platform (Ľudová platforma), Ján Figeľ (KDH), Pavol Frešo (SDKÚ-DS) a Béla Bugár (Most-Híd). If Smer will realize its intention, opposition will according to Bugár turn to Constitutional Court. Leaders pointed out, that social democrats already in the past adopted the measures, which the Court described as unconstitutional. It was, beside others, the ban of profit of health insurance companies. 

Cancelling of networks of pharmacies through the amendment to the act on pharmaceuticals, which is currently in Parliament, the company Mirakl, owner of Dr. Max pharmacies, considers as a form of expropriation. Company considers this proposal as an indirect form of expropriation, as it makes the entrepreneur, which provides several pharmacies, to give up of all of them except one. Amendment to the act enables the providing of only one public pharmacy plus one branch of public pharmacy. 

Representatives of employers do not agree with the plan of Government to move to unitary system of health insurance, what means creating of one health insurance company. Proposal, according to them, does not guarantee the higher quality of providing of health care, ensuring of effectiveness of its financing and anyway this proposal needlessly monopolizes the system of health insurance. Material will thus go to the negotiation of the Government with contradictions.