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Friday, 26.04.2024, 00:34
Cancer treatment, diagnostics of cardiovascular diseases to be available to Latvian patients not paying social tax
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Health Minister Anda Caksa told journalists today that starting next year, all healthcare services will be divided in two baskets – the basic and the full basket.
The minister admitted having mixed feelings about this division because as a medic she would like “everyone getting everything at once”, but as a government minister she has to recognize the befits of the compromise solution. Additional healthcare funding has helped shorten waiting lines in medical institutions and raise medics’ wages, the minister said.
The minister informed that the basic healthcare basket includes emergency medical assistance, obstetrician's services, government-funded cancer screening and procedures for patients with failing kidneys, family physician's services, including manipulations, diagnostic examination ordered by the family physician, treatment as well as government-funded medications for persons with mental disorders, addictions, diabetes and infections like HIV, AIDS, tuberculosis, etch.
To get the full basket of the government-paid healthcare services, patients will have to have health insurance. The full basket of healthcare services will include primary care, healthcare at home, laboratory tests ordered by physicians, inpatient care at day hospital or hospital, medical rehabilitation, obstetrician's services, all government-funded medications and medical equipment, therapists or psychologist’s counsel, as well as the costs of treatment in other EU or EEA countries.
The health minister noted that patients will still be charged co-payments for all government-funded healthcare services like before.
The healthcare services baskets have yet to be approved by the government.
As reported, people who are not making the state social insurance contributions, will have to pay EUR 51.60 or 1 percent of the minimum wage in 2018, 3 percent or EUR 154.8 in 2019, and 5 percent or EUR 258 in 2020 in order to become entitled to the full basket of the government-paid health care services in the respective calendar year. The payment has to be made once a year, starting September 1, 2018.
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