Czech health minister announces less drastic cuts in hospital payments to doctors

Czech health minister Leoš Heger announced on Thursday that cuts in payments by insurance companies to hospital doctors for health care would not be as deep as first announced. The minister said 2.159 billion crowns would be cut from the budget next year compared with this. This replaces the earlier sum of 6.0 billion. Mr. Heger said that this should allow hospitals to broadly offer the same level of care next year. The cut in spending to doctors for healthcare is nonetheless the first in the last 20 years. The head of the Association of Bohemian and Moravian Hospitals said there was no reason for budgets being cut. If payments were cut and the same level of service expected, many hospitals would have no option but to cut wages, he warned. This in turn could force more doctors to seek work abroad. Around 4,000 hospital doctors have said they will quit if conditions are not improved in the new year.

Author: Chris Johnstone