This has not occurred for four years in the Czech Republic. All the health insurance companies were in the red in 2008.
Last year, the chief sanitary officer was replaced and the management and administration board of the majority state-run General Health Insurance Company (VZP) underwent major changes.
Czech hospitals did not know almost to the end of the year whether health insurers would sign new contracts for next years with them. Opponents of the planned changes to the hospital network claim that health care quality and availability may be threatened due to them. Over 100,000 people signed a petition calling for the maintaining of the present network.
Under a new law that took effect in January 2012, patients can ask for extra treatment or materiel, such as eye lenses, lighter plaster, some types of vaccination or being operated by a chosen surgeon, if they pay part of the costs. Until then, patients could ask only for paid extra services, such as a better room in hospital. Except for some fees and dental services, nearly all treatment is covered by the compulsory health insurance.
The demand for the paid extras has not been high, however. The Health Ministry is waiting for the Constitutional Court to decide on a complaint against the introduction of the extras.
Health Minister Leos Heger (TOP 09) has been the longest serving Czech health minister since 1989. On December 29, he will be 900 days in office.
Healthcare trade unions and patients? associations criticised Heger and the Czech Doctor?s Chamber (CLK) called for his resignation, but the coalition government and the lower house of parliament backed him.
Heger was criticised for reducing the numbers of acute beds in clinics, extending the limits for ambulance cars to arrive on emergency calls from 15 to 20 minutes, and not gaining more money for the healthcare system.
The unions said Heger did not fully meet his promises to raise pay for doctors and nurses. They claimed that he was a deputy finance minister rather than a health minister.
Heger originally wanted to take more reform steps in 2012, but the pace slowed down.
In September a methanol poisoning affair broke out in the country and 38 people died after drinking tainted bootleg spirits, some of which they bought in legal shops. Dozens of others harmed their health and the government imposed a two-week national ban on liquor sale.
After Heger pushed through personnel changes to the VZP administrative board, the VZP abolished the contracts for the controversial IZIP project of electronic health files for patients.
VZP paid nearly two billion crowns for IZIP in the past ten years, but the scrapping of the project did not affect most patients because the electronic files were not broadly introduced. Heger filed a criminal complaint over IZIP.
Read the full story on www.ceskenoviny.cz.
CZECH REPUBLIC: All health insurance companies make losses in 2012
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