Last year, Slovakia witnessed an influx of chaotic ideas and proposals instead of systematic reforms, according to INESS analyst Martin Vlachynský. He pointed to the uncertainties surrounding the renewal plan, the optimisation of the hospital network, the budget and the wages of health workers. He also pointed to a number of new regulations for health insurers and budget reserves with "unclear or variable destination". The division of the health agenda between the health and finance ministries was also unclear, he said.
“When the government started, it had a hint of an agenda and concrete reforms in the health sector. Something was done, especially in drug policy, something was dusted off (stratification of hospitals), but as time went on, everything focused on how to spend the money from the recovery plan and the aforementioned chaos of proposals and political decision-making," he concluded. According to Vlachynský, this year will be a continuation of 2022. "There will be fateful moments in the recovery plan, especially on the issue of optimising the hospital network," he said. He warned that there is a risk of an even greater dose of populism as elections approach.
This year, he said, there will continue to be a deterioration in access to healthcare due to ageing, high input prices and thus rapidly rising costs for the system, or the issue of extremely expensive new drugs. "Things cannot be solved, only improved," he noted. What is needed, he said, is to start building stability in the system through longer-term budgeting and to stop trying to micromanage the entire system.
Source: TASR
