The representatives of the Association of Hospice and Palliative Care of Slovakia (AHAPS) ask the President of the Slovak Republic, Petr Pellegrini, to used his authority to save hospice care in Slovakia. They invited him to a meeting on this topic before the end of the year. This follows from the letter they sent to the head of state. Ladislav Bariak informed TASR about this on behalf of the Spiš Catholic Charity.
“Our call is an appeal not only for specific steps, but also for values that should be the basis of every society,” they wrote in the letter. They explained that hospices are in a critical situation, as funding from public health insurance covers only half of their actual costs. According to them, equipment problems are not only a matter of legislation, but also a matter of dignity at the end of human life.
According to them, the president has the authority to appeal to the Minister of Health Kamil Šašek (Voice-SD) and other competent people to address this issue with the urgency it deserves. “You are a person who can stand on the side of the weak and we believe that even in this situation you will be the voice of those who don’t have it themselves.” approached the representatives. At a personal meeting, they want to explain the current facts and specific proposed solutions to the president.
In the letter, they reminded that Slovakia has committed itself to the recovery plan to create at least 270 new palliative care beds. “However, if we do not maintain the existing facilities, this commitment will become unfulfillable,” they specified. They demand, among other things, to ensure the conditions for compliance with legal obligations, such as personnel regulations and wage claims. According to them, the necessary step for preserving the existence of hospices is to increase the payment per bed day to 230 euros and cancel the contractual limits on the part of insurance companies.
The bad situation was pointed out by AHAPS representatives and hospice operators in Slovakia at the beginning of December. They informed that if the prices per treatment day are not increased, hospices may face closure.
Health insurance companies specified that determination of the amount of reimbursement per bed day is within the competence of the Ministry of Health. The department responded that based on data from the hospices, it can reevaluate the price for a treatment day in the hospice. Currently, the amount of reimbursement per treatment day is set by the price measure at 100 euros.
