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Hundreds of thousands of people in low and middle income will have better wages next year. Decrease in contributions will affect people with gross salary to 494 euros per month. According to the Ministry of Finance that will affect totally 450 thousand to 580 thousand employees. Decrease in contributions will cost the state € 150 million per year, what could push on national debt. On the other hand, if people receive incentives to work, state can save on benefits. Contributions will decrease mainly for minimum wage workers, who will earn by € 32 net per month more. So, they can earn € 339. If such work takes long-term unemployed, the state in his first year will also keep his benefits from 63 to 126 euros per month.
Six of the seven public limited companies of Ministry of Health ended last year in the black numbers. Specifically: National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Hospital Poprad, Central Slovakia Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, Eastern Slovakia Cancer Center, East Slovakia Institute of Cardiovascular diseases and General Health Insurance Company. As it is also clear from the report that Government approved, the negative result was at Air-force Military Hospital, exactly minus € 152,000. However, the ministry report shows that management has improved.
Health care facilities owed on premiums to Social Insurance Agency at the end of July 2014 over € 104.8 million. Since the beginning of the year their claims increased by € 18.5 million. Claims against state-owned medical facilities reached 69.6 million euros. Per month thus increased by 2.2 million euros. The increase of receivables due to non-payment is recorded at Bratislava University and Children's Hospital, as well as at Teaching Hospital in Banska Bystrica. Debts of transformed health care facilities accounted for more than 35.2 million euros. Per month thus increased by € 520,000.
The payment for state-insured persons is not explicitly calculated yet by state. Health Policy Institute (HPI) calculated it to € 1.13 billion. This – according to calculations of the number of state-insured 3,117 million – represents a payment in the amount of € 30.2, which means the rate at 3.67% of the average wage two years ago (824 € in 2013). If that is true, Ministry of Finance plans to reduce next year's payment for state insured under 4% – the lowest possible level according to the law. According to the state budget proposal and the proposal to reduce healthcare contributions for low-income workers, Slovak health care may miss € 250 million next year.
The largest private insurance company Dôvera had last year profit of more than € 46 million. It is the most of all insurance companies. Dôvera gave its profits to a reserve fund and did not use the money to pay dividends to its shareholders. They, however, paid out the money from insurance company anyway. Investment group Penta and Cypriot company Prefto Holding Limited had together paid out almost € 150 million, of which Dôvera reduced the so-called commitments to shareholders in its accounting. Owners of Dôvera did not pay taxes of this amount. They did not have to. Formally it was just settlement of the liability, not profit. If you such amount was paid from profits they would have to pay 23 percent tax of it for more than € 30 million.
National Transfusion Service (NTS) of the Slovak Republic is one of the most crucial institutions in the Slovak health care. It is the largest and practically the only supplier of blood for all hospitals. Hospitals do not pay for blood, so NTS does not pay its suppliers. Now the debts of the NTS took over the largest buyer of claims in our market, Magellan Slovakia, ltd. At the beginning of July it took over debts for 5.4 million euros. With NTS have agreed on monthly installments from 105,000 to 404,000 euros. Magellan Slovakia with this transaction did its largest business on our market.
Health care facilities owed at the end of May 2014 on premium to Social Insurance Agency over € 98.6 million. Since the beginning of the year their claims increased by € 12.3 million. Claims of state medical facilities reached 64.9 million euros. Monthly increased by 1.7 million euros. The increase of receivables due to non-payment is recorded in the Bratislava University Hospital, Bratislava Children's Hospital and the National Transfusion Service. Debts of transformed medical facilities accounted more than 33.7 million euros. Per month thus increased by € 286,000. The increases of receivables arising from non-payment of monthly premiums were recorded at the six facilities.
Slovakia won one of the arbitrations with the owner of health insurance company Union, the Dutch company Achmea. Achmea has appealed to the arbitral tribunal due to Robert Fico´s Government intention to introduce a single insurance company. Achmea argued that it is a violation of international treaties for the protection of investments. The Dutch company tried to avert the following purchase or expropriation of private insurance companies by state. How much Achmea sued Slovakia for, it is clear. The amount should Achmea quantified in further proceedings. The Dutch company now has to pay costs in the amount of 340 thousand euros and legal costs of Slovakia. The Ministry of Finance quantified these costs to over one million euros.
Medical facilities owed at the end of March to Social Insurance Agency in Slovakia over € 95.6 million. Since the beginning of the year, their claims increased by € 9.3 million. Claims of state-owed medical facilities reached 62.8 million euros. Only by month increased by almost 2.1 million euros. Debts of transformed medical facilities amount more than 32.8 million euros. Per month increased by € 643,000. The increase of receivables due to not paying monthly charges was recorded in 11 facilities. Social Insurance Agency registered a total of 22 monitored medical facilities with the claim. Of these, six are state-owned and 16 transformed healthcare facilities.