Around €80 million will be used in the first round of settling hospital debts, stated Health Minister Tomáš Drucker (a Smer-SD nominee) after the Cabinet session on Wednesday, adding that the money would be used to repay older debts first. Drucker was responding to the Health Ministry-sponsored proposal to give hospitals up to €585 million to settle their debts, which was approved by the Cabinet earlier in the day.
The debt settlement should apply to both state and non-state facilities. It will not be a one-off settlement and will be carried out in several rounds with older debts being repaid first. The debt settlement will be voluntary, with the money only going to those willing to undergo recovery plans.
"If the hospitals management by its own fault didn't follow the financial recovery plans, this management can be replaced, regardless of whether it is a state or private medical facility," stated Health Minister Tomáš Drucker after the Cabinet's session.
The health sector's debts mounted to €647.24 million last year with state-run university and faculty hospitals making up the biggest portion of it, notably €547.16 million. Hospitals owe the highest sums to special medical material suppliers, who criticised Drucker's proposal even before the Cabinet session and consider subjecting the hospitals to executors.
