Estonia, Financial Services, Insurance, Medicine

The number of people without jobs who are not registered as unemployed as well as the number of individuals who do not work officially is growing and hence the number of people without medical insurance is also growing each day.

A major study that would ascertain who the people without medical insurance are has not been compiled in Estonia in five years. A households study carried out by the Statistical Office in 2004 showed that the majority of persons without medical insurance were jobless who had not registered themselves officially.

Since persons without medical insurance are guaranteed only emergency medical care, they generally reach doctors only when they need intense treatments which are more expensive, said Social Ministry healthcare department chief specialist Inna Vabamäe.

The cost of treating a person without medical insurance in a hospital is approximately 17 percent higher than in case of people with medical insurance as the former generally turn to the doctors when they need more intense treatment.

The Ministry of Social Affairs, however, estimates that extending accessibility to medical care to people without medical insurance would be more expensive than guaranteeing them emergency treatment.

The Social Ministry budget prescribes 111.09 million kroons this year for providing medical care to persons without medical insurance which is by a tenth more than last year.

In addition to emergency medical care, persons without medical insurance coverage from the Health Insurance Fund can get treatments in the Eastern Tallinn Central Hospital long-term care clinic’s department for people without medical insurance. Unfortunately this is the only such department in Estonia: although the Tallinn city authorities have increased the number of beds there by five to 25 in connection with the continued increase of joblessness, this may not solve the problems fully.