9.4 About the authors

Tomáš Szalay is a Health Policy Analyst with an interest in health care regulation. He has worked for 10 years in the domain of health policy. As a World Bank Consultant he assisted in the Quality of Care Project in Slovakia. He teaches health policy, regulation and organization to both undergraduates and graduates. He has also gained work experience in other countries in the region, such as the Czech Republic and Hungary. He has also 10 years of journalistic experience in both print and electronic media. This drives his interest in communication of tough health policy issues.

Peter Pažitný is the Executive Director and a founding partner of the Health Policy Institute. He was the Chief Adviser of the Slovak Minister of Health (2002–2004), Adviser of the Hungarian Minister of Health (2006–2007) and Adviser of the Czech Minister of Health (2007–2009). He is also the founding partner and CEO of the Health Management Academy. He teaches health care financing and health policy.

Angelika Szalayová is a founding partner of the Health Policy Institute and the Health Management Academy. She obtained her medical degree at the Medical School, Comenius University, Bratislava. In 2003–2005 she worked at the Ministry of Health, where she was responsible for pharmaceutical policy. She was a member of the reimbursement committee for pharmaceuticals in 2003–2006 and 2010 in Slovakia, and in 2006–2007 in the Czech Republic. In 2005–2006 she was a member of the management board at the General Health Insurance Fund.

Simona Frisová is a Senior Analyst at the Health Policy Institute and Project Director at the Health Management Academy. She holds an economic graduate degree in insurance mathematics from the Faculty of Economic Informatics of the University of Economics in Bratislava. She has also completed a European Health Leadership Programme at INSEAD, Fontainebleau. From 2002 to 2006 she was an Analyst at the think-tank MESA 10 (Center for Economic and Social Analyses).

Karol Morvay is a Senior Analyst at the Health Policy Institute and a Researcher at the Institute of Economics and Management at the University of Economics in Bratislava. His main research interests are macroeconomics and economic policy. He holds a Master’s degree in economic policy and a PhD in economic theory from the University of Economics in Bratislava. He teaches economics and health economics.

Marek Petrovič is a Junior Analyst at the Health Policy Institute. He is currently working as an Anaesthesiologist in the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care of the University Hospital Bratislava. He has a Doctor of Medicine degree from Comenius University.

Ewout van Ginneken is a Senior Researcher in the Department of Health Care Management at the Berlin University of Technology and the Berlin hub of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies. He holds a Master’s of health sciences, health policy and administration from Maastricht University, and a PhD in public health from the Berlin University of Technology.