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Friday, 26.04.2024, 17:39
Lithuanian president vetoes overhaul of healthcare network
The Seimas passed the amendments before closing its spring
session, but the president sent them back to the parliament for
reconsideration.
Grybauskaite cited incompatibility with the
Constitution and certain procedural violations made by the Seimas as the
reasons for returning the package.
The amendments would have authorized the health minister to
decide on a network of health facilities that would have been given priority in
signing agreements with Territorial Health Insurance Funds for the costs of
health services to be covered by compulsory health insurance.
Rasa Svetikaite,
advisor to the president, says that it is necessary to establish by law
qualitative criteria that healthcare providers would have to meet to be
eligible for funding from the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund.
"I want to underline that the president supports the
reform of healthcare facilities which is necessary, because the current network
of hospitals is inefficient, expensive and fails to ensure top-quality
services. However, constitutional principles can't be compromised, not even for
the purpose of achieving the best goals," the advisor told reporters on
Tuesday.
"The Constitution guarantees a patient the
right and freedom to choose his or her healthcare provider -- no matter
whether it is a public or private one," she said.
The president's office says that the laws could be amended
without postponing the launch of the reform, now planned for January 2019.