The ruling Smer party blocked another session of the parliamentary committees when its MPs failed to appear at the special session of the health-care committee held on May 31. All Smer MPs, including the committee’s chair Richard Raši, were absent, the TASR newswire reported.
Based on a proposal submitted by the opposition, the committee members were to discuss the proposal of having an inspection by MPs of the Health Ministry in the wake of Slovakia’s loss in the arbitration proceedings against Achmea, the Dutch owner of private health insurer Union. The opposition views this turn of events as a result of arrogance and ignorance on the part of Smer, and has filed a request to convene another committee session.
“They ignore the committee session; I call that arrogance,” said Viliam Novotný of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), as quoted by TASR. Novotný wanted the inspection to probe the arbitration results concerning the ban of profits for private health insurers and its consequences on Slovak health care, as well as the potential legal risks stemming from the creation of a unitary health insurance system.
Novotný had originally wanted Health Minister Zuzana Zvolenská to inform the MPs via reports, but the health-care committee did not request her to do anything at its session on May 28.
“If Ms Minister does not feel like writing reports, we will go to inspect the situation in person,” Novotný said, as quoted by TASR, bemoaning the fact that Smer MPs did not even show up at the session to discuss such a possibility. “Slovakia lost the arbitration on its ban on profits, with €29.5 million blocked in the accounts of Slovakia, and the Smer party acts like nothing happened at all.”
Source: TASR
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
