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Wednesday, 24.04.2024, 13:36
Latvian Saeima passes Healthcare Financing Law in the final reading
The Healthcare
Financing Law was adopted by 70 votes to 16.
The government-funded healthcare minimum, which will
be provided to all residents of Latvia regardless of the size of their social
tax payments, includes emergency medical assistance, obstetrician's services,
family physician's services, as well as government-funded medications and
medical equipment.
The government-funded healthcare minimum will also
include treatment of patients whose illnesses pose threat to public health,
such as mental disorders and tuberculosis.
To receive the full basket of government-funded
healthcare services, patients will need mandatory health insurance policies.
According to the Healthcare Financing Law, the full
basket of healthcare services will be provided to those persons who have been
socially insured in line with the Law on State Social Insurance, as well as
persons under state protection who have been making health insurance
contributions.
The state will provide health insurance to certain
groups of people, like children, orphans, officially unemployed persons, organ
donors, persons whose health has suffered as a result of participation in the
rescue works following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, pensioners, victims of
Soviet-time political reprisals and members of national resistance, among
others.
The amount of social contributions will be 1% of the
minimum monthly wage next year, which will further increase to 3% in 2019 and
5% in 2020.
Since the minimum monthly wage will increase to EUR
430 next year, the monthly health insurance contribution will be EUR 4.3. In
two years' time it will rise to EUR 21.5 a month unless the minimum wage is
raised again.
Under the Healthcare Financing Law, Latvia's health
budget has to reach 4% of GDP by 2020.