The private health insurer Union has concluded all contracts, including addendums, with 16 state hospitals that had terminated contracts before summer.
“We consider it noteworthy that the addendums were signed on the very last day (i.e. September 30) of the campaign in which citizens were allowed to change health insurer,” head of the board of Union Roman Podolák said, a quoted by the TASR newswire. “We will still assess the steps of state hospitals towards Union and its results during these three months.”
State hospitals terminated the contracts before summer. If not renewed, they would have expired by September 30 – which was also the last date when people were allowed to change one health insurer for another. Union has argued that the terminations of contract were not in compliance with the law.
“In order to protect the rights of our policy-holders, we made legal steps and are now waiting for results,” Podolák said. “We consider the terminations invalid, and thus also state hospitals to still be rendering health care to patients, with valid contracts concluded with Union.”
Hospitals terminated the contracts, requiring the country’s smallest health insurer, Union, to increase prices for medical treatment and also to abolish so-called degressive coefficient. Union claims that hospitals were forced to do so by its competitor, the big state-owned heath insurer Všeobecná Zdravotná Poisťovňa, VšZP. A week ago, Union obliged and sent them proposal of contracts’ addendums.
Union claims to have offered the same, or even better, condition to hospitals as were secured through contract with the remaining two heath insurers. The private insurer also points out that by not having singed the addendums early on, hospital have lost out on about a half-million euros.
(Source: TASR)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
