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Friday, 29.03.2024, 11:38
Government committee in Latvia endorses healthcare funding bill
The draft regulation provides for dividing health services in two baskets –
the minimum and the full services basket.
Finance Minister Dana
Reizniece-Ozola (Greens/Farmers) told journalists following the meeting
that some correction to the draft legislation will be made before tomorrow’s
Cabinet meeting, for instance, concrete sums will be removed from the bill.
“It is not rational to write specific sums in the bill, instead, they have
to be indicated in the annotation to the bill. If the goal is to raise
healthcare funding to 4% of GDP, it is necessary to bear in mind that GDP
forecasts are updated twice a year, so such law [that includes concrete sums by
which health funding will be increased] can quickly become outdated,” the
finance minister explained.
According to the draft legislation, which has been drawn up and submitted
by the Health Ministry, the minimum health services basket, available to all
residents of Latvia regardless of the amount of their social security
contributions, will include emergency and obstetrical care, the family
physician’s services and government-funded medications, as well as treatment of
illnesses posing threat to public health, including mental illnesses and
tuberculosis, as well as medications for treating these ailments.
To receive the full basket of healthcare services, which includes all the
other government-funded healthcare services, Latvia’s residents will need state
mandatory health insurance.
Under the draft law, state mandatory health insurance will be provided to
those persons that have been making mandatory social security contributions in
line with the law on state social insurance. As of next year, social security
contributions for persons that do not pay taxes will be set at 1% of the
minimum monthly wage. In 2019, these contributions will grow to 3% and in 2020
to 5% of the minimum wage.
Since next year the minimum wage will rise to EUR 430, the monthly
contribution will be EUR 4.3 in 2018. In two years’ time, it will grow to EUR
21.5 unless the minimum wage is also increase.