An income threshold will be introduced into the supplementary health insurance system, and after the necessary legal amendments, the number of insured individuals for whom the state paid supplementary insurance will be reduced from 1,250,000 to 880,000, announced Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health Darko Milinović while presenting new health measures as part of the government’s Economic Recovery Program.
The income threshold will not apply only to 100% disabled individuals, regular students and pupils, as well as blood and organ donors. Some insured individuals from the groups of unemployed, farmers, persons with disabilities, and Croatian war veterans will have to pay for their supplementary health insurance themselves, Milinović explained. The Minister of Health also presented a plan to consolidate Zagreb’s hospitals, reducing their number from the current 16 to six. This, he said, would save 318 million kuna, as it would reduce the costs of financing their administrations and eliminate the overlap of specialist activities, emergency services, and specialist diagnostics. All preparations for the merger should be completed by July 15, after which the merger process should begin. The presentation of the new health measures at the Ministry of Health was attended by Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor. She announced that the government would decide on these measures at the meeting on Thursday, in order to start their operationalization as soon as possible. It was announced that all necessary laws for the implementation of these measures should be amended by July 15. (www.hrt.hr)
