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The minister explained that the allocations this year had been reduced to the hospitals which last year had provided out-patient services in smaller amounts than planned under the agreements with the National Health Service (NHS).

Belevics told the press on Thursday that by now over 90% of public and private health care service providers had already signed the agreements with the NHS for 2016.

"My duty as the health minister is to make sure that the patients’ needs for health care services are met,” he said, adding that it was not his duty to dance to the tune of the management of small hospitals which had failed to deliver on their contractual obligations last year.

In some cases hospitals, which will receive smaller financing for out-patient services this year would get larger funding for in-patient services and the total financing will still be larger than in 2015, Belevics explained.

According to the information from the Health Ministry, aggregate financing to hospitals for out-patient services this year is by EUR 1.003 million larger than last year and the financing for in-patient services has been increased by nearly EUR 1.856. The total financing to regional hospitals for out-patient services in 2016 is by EUR 260,000 larger than in 2015.

The hospitals, which still have not signed the agreements with the NHS represent 5.77% of the total amount of health care services provided in Latvia.

As reported, the regional hospitals in Latvia in late March demanded from the Health Ministry and the National Health Service explanations about financial cuts and refused to sign the agreements about provision of the government-paid out-patient services in 2016 because the agreement amounts were much smaller than last year.

The NHS explained that financing to regional hospitals for out-patient services in 2016 had been reduced in order to grant more money to the large hospitals in Riga which also provide services to large numbers of out-patients from the regions, in particular carrying out complicated and specific medical tests.