According to media reports, Slovakian healthcare minister Ivan Valentovic has revealed plans to ban health insurance companies from gaining profits, in a bid to drive more money into the loss-making healthcare system.
The Slovakian government has a vision to eventually create a system with a single public health insurer. Although the proposal had been approved at a regular government meeting, it was faced with great opposition from private health insurers, reported Reuters. As a result, the healthcare minister is expected to prepare a legislative motion which excludes profit creation only from public health insurance system.
According to the Budapest Business Journal, the government will proceed to merge two publicly owned health insurers, namely Vseobecna Zdravotna Poistovna and Spolocna Zdravonta Poistovna. Creating one insurance company was seen as the only remedy for the pauperized health sector.
Private insurers are reportedly waiting for the specific wording of the proposed changes before giving a response, but have clearly indicated their opposition to the idea of prohibiting private health insurers from generating any profit.
The country’s private health insurers include Apollo, Dovera, EZP and Union, which have a combined client base of 1.7 million, approximately 30% of all medical insurance clients in Slovakia, Reuters reported.