IF the new Slovak government follows through on its campaign promise to repeal the fees introduced as part of the previous government's health care reforms, the national health care system would suffer a budget shortfall of around Sk2.5 billion (€70 million) annually.
Eduard Kováč, the head of the Association of Health Insurance Companies, said that, although this is not a huge sum in context, it is income that will be have to be replaced.
Moreover, Kováč pointed out that the fees serve a certain regulatory function by ensuring waiting rooms are filled only by patients genuinely in need of attention.
10. Jul 2006 at 0:00 | From press reports
