Health Unions Worried Minister Will Renege on Copayment Agreement
The health care unions are concerned that Minister of Social Affairs Hanno Pevkur will not honor an agreement to keep patient copayments the same.
The minister and the unions are preparing to sign a memorandum of understanding under which decision makers would avoid raising copayments.
Ending their strike last Friday, the unions said they did not want their pay raise demands to be granted at the expense of patients.
"At the same time the social affairs minister has told the press that he is expecting a proposal from the Hospitals Association and is preparing to raise the amount that patients pay for visits and overnight stays,“ a press release from the unions said.
According to the unions, there is enough money in the Health Insurance Fund reserve to grant the pay raises, but the social affairs minister has refused to utilize the reserves.
Under the agreement that ended the strike on Friday, most of the money for minimum wage raises for doctors, nurses and caregivers is supposed to come from the Health Insurance Fund's budget and the state budget. Since costs will exceed allocations in 2013, however, the Hospitals Association has agreed to cover the difference with its own funds.