President Ivan Gašparovič on November signed the amendment to the Health Insurers Act, according to which private health insurers will have to feed their possible profits from compulsory health insurance back to the health system.
According to the amendment ratified by Parliament on October 25, health insurers will have to use their profits in a way that doesn't endanger accessibility to universal health care services. Meanwhile, they will be able to decide on the use of profit from commercial health insurance – in other words, from the supplementary health services that it covers.
Health insurance companies will have the duty to return their profit to the system in the year the profit was achieved or the following year. This means paying by 2009 the profits generated in 2008. The Health Ministry estimates this measure will garner almost Sk1.9 billion (€57 million) for the health care system. Private health insurance companies have announced they are considering filing a suit with the Constitutional Court against the measure. The amendment will come into force as of January 1, 2008. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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