There are currently 120,000 people in Slovakia who have limited access to preventive examinations or standard treatment due to their health insurance debts. The Ministry of Health has therefore prepared changes to the rules for debtors in health insurance.
At the end of July, the health department sent to the inter-ministerial commentary procedure rules for the efficient use of health benefits. The new legislation brings about a complex change in the use of health levies, supervision of healthcare provision and transparency of healthcare reimbursement rules as well as other areas. He also pays attention to the position of people with underpayment on insurance. If today a health insurance company registers a debt, its client only has access to urgent healthcare. All other actions, including preventive visits, must be covered by, or unavailable to, the patient who is underpaid; specifies Vladimir Lengvarsky, Minister of Health. The restriction of access to health care, according to the Minister's words, had the legitimate intention to encourage the payment of health contributions. However, the intention was not translated into practice. The access restriction was fully implemented only after 2011. Nevertheless, in principle, the premium collection has not changed and oscillates around 98 percent. The two percentages of borrowers at first glance may sound like a value at the level of the statistical deviation, but if we change the percentages to absolute figures, we find that we are far from talking about a small number of residents. According to data from the first half of 2022, more than 120,000 people are affected by the restriction of access to standard healthcare, Vladimir Lengvarsky continues. According to the Ministry of Health, the rules currently set up did not demonstrate the benefits of higher choices. On the contrary, complications have been highlighted. Patients with limited access to preventive examinations often reach the doctor at a time when their treatment is much more expensive and the chance of healing is lower. Moreover, restrictions also apply to debtors who pay health contributions today or pensioners for whom the State already pays premiums. The Resort therefore intends to change the status quo so that strict restrictions on access to healthcare for patients with longitudinality are relaxed, but it is open to discussion on the scope of healthcare provided. The amendment proposes to provide debtors with full health care and to limit access only in the case of suspensive care, for example, while staying in the spa. It also proposes the abolition of restrictions for people who have longitudinalities from the past, but today health benefits apply.
Of course, health insurance companies can also be understood, for which it is important to minimise the number of debtors. We are open to finding solutions at the Ministry. At the moment, however, it can be said that the current status of patients with arrears is all possible but not healthy, closed Vladimir Lengvarsky.