The Senate approved the abolition of the fees by the votes of 61 of the 66 senators present though its health committee did not recommend the step on Tuesday. The bill lifts the regulatory fees from newborn babies, along with organ donors, the patients who undergo medical treatment on a court's order and people in homes for the disabled. The exemption of these groups was agreed on by the three coalition parties in early June, on the initiative of the junior ruling Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) and the Greens (SZ). The bill subsequently made it through the lower house. Under the present health legislation, part of the government's public Czech regional, Senate elections to be on October 17-18 ...
Area of one third of Czech Senate constituencies to change ...
Court upholds life sentence for Czech double murderer ... finance reform valid since January, Czechs have to pay regulatory fees of 30, 60 and 90 crowns for a visit to a surgery and an item on prescription, for a day spent in hospital and for using the emergency medical service, respectively. The opposition wants even larger groups of the population, including pensioners, to be exempted. The Health Ministry says the fees have had a positive effect, also in reducing the number of unnecessary visits to doctors and saving money spent on cheap medicines. The 5,000-crown yearly limit, above which the fees are covered for the patient by the state, protects those with the lowest income, the ministry says. The opponents of the system say the fees have become a barrier for certain low-income groups' access to health care. Earlier this year the left-wing opposition unsuccessfully sought to push through the abolition of the regulatory fees at the Constitutional Court. On Tuesday, the Senate's nine-member health committee, dominated by the senior ruling Civic Democrats (ODS), recommended that the Senate preserve the fees for newborn babies. Defending the recommendation, ODS senator Daniela Filipiova said the introduction of the fees has largely contributed to money flowing in support of expensive treatment.
Any exceptions erode the whole system, and the proposed abolition of the fees for babies is a rather populist gesture," Filipiova said.
(Ceske Noviny)
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