Health Minister Ivan Valentovic will not ask the cabinet to continue paying increased health insurance contributions that the state pays for economically inactive clients of health insurance companies for the rest of this year. Currently, the state pays 5 percent of the average nominal monthly wage in national economy for these people. As of May 1 this sum should be again reduced to 4 percent.
Parliamentary deputy for the opposition Christian-Democratic Movement (KDH) Maria Sabolova suggested to increase these payments again by one percentage point as of July 1 of this year. The deputy proposed the change in an amendment to the Health Insurance Act that is already in parliament. Ms. Sabolova wanted the measure take place for an indefinite period. This year it would bring SKK 3 billion more to the health care sector.
The minister informed social partners at a tripartite meeting on Tuesday that he recommended that faculty hospitals offer their employees a 10 percent pay rise as of June 1 of this year and another 10 percent as of November 1. Increased costs should be compensated for by higher payments to the hospitals from health insurance companies in the first wave while the November hike should be covered from money saved by applied rationalization measures. The minister said he would therefore not ask the cabinet to increase government payments for state clients of health insurance companies.
As the ministry can influence salaries only in health facilities it supervises, the minister recommended that the Slovak Association of Hospitals also offer the same rise to health care workers its hospitals.
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