On Monday, the Health Ministry, the Slovak Hospital Association and the Slovak Health Labour Union Association met for talks. The health organisations continue to demand more financing for the sector. As their representatives stated, if this request is not met, 60 out of 80 small- and mid-sized hospitals plan to withdraw from their contracts with all three health insurers. Health unionists concede that they might go on strike alert. Following Monday’s talks, the Health Ministry confirmed that it is still seeking solutions together with the Finance Ministry.
According to Slovak Hospitals Association President Marian Petko, Slovak health care needs at least an additional €300 million. "If the hospitals withdraw from their contracts, it's quite likely that only emergency care will be provided to patients as of July 1," he added.
The President of the Slovak Health Labour Union Association Anton Szalay criticised the fact that no representative of the Finance Ministry attended the Monday talks, despite several invitations being extended to them. He did not rule out additional protest strikes.
Health Ministry spokesperson Zuzana Eliasova underlined that the ministry is in talks with the Finance Ministry and seeking solutions. "Our aim is to funnel as many finances into the sector as needed, and we're aware of the current relatively alarming state of affairs," she said.
Source: TASR
