In hospitals and outpatient clinics, queues are still long
A private clinic undergoes a magnetic resonance imaging, with a doctor’s referral, usually does not cost a person. You have to pay a few euros for a special outfit and, if you want, for a medium on which the study results are recorded. However, patients already paid for state health services to private institutions pay at least another $ 40 million a year. euros.
Such bonuses are wants to abolish the government. However, the Seimas Legal Department declared that the proposal was in conflict with the Constitution. The Law and Order Committee disagrees with this.
« This is a public provision of health care services, so it is not possible to treat that there is economic activity, » said Julius Sabataakas, Chairman of the Law and Order Committee.
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Former Judge of the Constitutional Court, Toma Birmontienė, said that if the law restricted by the premium of private medical institutions would be adopted, it could be appealed.
« The proposed amendments to the law restrict the patient’s right. The patient who pays health insurance contributions shall be entitled to the health insurance service, funded by the Health Insurance Fund, » she explained.
We would stop some services and then people should look for them elsewhere.
Part of the opposition of the Seimas also opposes the amendments.
« Will it not open Pandora’s chests and will not encourage illegal, envelopes?
Representatives of private medical institutions also see the threat to even larger queues in public hospitals and outpatient clinics.
« We would stop some of the services and then people should look for them elsewhere. They would migrate into the public sector, further increasing the problem – queues, » explained Kęstutis Broniukaitis, CEO of Meliva Lietuva.
The minister is repeating that patients who have been gathering in private treatment facilities will continue to be able to choose them. Simply private medical institutions will not be able to make an extra, taking money from the state and patients.
« If the service is paid for the service from the sickness fund, then there is no premium for the same service.
Marija Jakubauskienė. L. April / Photo by BNS
However, private people fear that the government’s target is not just an additional bonus.
« The contracts of the sickness funds with private medical institutions will be eliminated, and in which case residents will already have to pay the full price of the service, as there will be no compensation for the sickness funds. In other words, they pay insurance premiums but will not be able to use them, » said Laimutis Paškevičius, President of the Lithuanian Association of Private Health
The minister is reassuring that he will not destroy private medical institutions, just spend more money on public.
« The proposal will solve such problems when the public sector outpatient clinics are already providing patients with services only paid, due to the lack of contracts with the sickness fund, » she assured.
The government seeks that medical institutions from next year cannot claim premiums for services paid by the State Patient Fund.
In addition, the ruling coalition council decided that there would be exceptions to the possible bonuses. For example, the patient chooses more expensive lenses, dentures or pay for a separate ward in the hospital.
