A proposed amendment to increase health insurance payments for state policyholders has failed after no Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) MPs voted in favour. The amendment was initially tabled by the KDH itself in the form of an indirect revision through an amendment of the law on road transport.
Based on the draft amendment, payments for state policyholders, i.e. people such as students, pensioners and people on parental leave who do not pay health insurance contributions themselves but whose contributions are covered by the state, were to have increased. However, Finance Minister Ivan Mikloš threatened on Tuesday, November 29, that if amendments leading to an increase in the general government deficit above the agreed 4.6 percent of GDP were passed, he would withdraw the draft budget for 2012 from parliament and Slovakia would have to operate under a harsher provisional budget regime next year. “I will not allow the public finances to be ruined during these hard times and Slovakia's credibility to be jeopardised," the minister said, as reported by the SITA newswire, on Tuesday.
KDH MP Anton Marcinčin said, as quoted by the Sme daily, that failure to approve the state budget would threaten the financing of the state debt. Smer MP and former health minister Richard Raši said that KDH behaved like “Pharisees” as the government's original plan was to increase resources in the health sector.
Sources: SITA, Sme
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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