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“It is difficult to change the financing and the structure of the health system. But the situation is stale. It seems to me that there is no time left and that must be addressed. It is a matter of agreement and self-determination,” J. says to the news portal tv3.lt. Sejonienė, vice president of the Medical Movement, elected to the Seimas with the conservatives.
The new government has repeatedly stated that one of its top priorities is health protection. However, some lines of the coalition agreement have provoked a debate on the possible privatization of the health system: “We will create a crisis-friendly health care system that is convenient, accessible and of high quality for the population, and that provides non-discriminatory private health facilities. “
The Social Democrats immediately responded that they were concerned about this part: “The Social Democrats will watch with great concern the possible provisions of the coalition agreement to privatize the health system and will oppose such efforts to the best of their ability. The healthcare system in Lithuania must be public and financed with all the taxes we pay, ”said the Social Democratic faction in a statement.
Sejonienė: “Quality must be paid for”
According to J. Sejonienė, changes in the health system could have been implemented earlier. Now everything is in the hands of the new government.
“I hope to take several steps towards quality medical care. Quality has to be paid for, it is just a matter of self-determination and agreement, who pays, to what extent and how. We cannot deny that we use health services in private capital institutions and it is unnecessarily disconcerting that public health institutions also provide part of the services for which they charge a fee ”, said the interlocutor.
According to her, the mandatory medical insurance fund (PSDF) is limited. The need for services is much greater than what can be paid with PSDF, which can be offset.
“It just came to our notice then. I think we need to get rid of the illusion that health care is generally free, that the state can maintain more than 20 groups that have guaranteed health care, which the state pays for. They cannot. be received in a timely and high-quality manner by those who pay compulsory contributions to health insurance, “said the new member of Seimas.
“Lithuania is the only country in Europe that does not have official premiums”
According to J. Sejonienė, the costs of the patients themselves, the so-called pockets for health care services, are one of the largest to which the population contributes.
“It seems normal to me that they pay what they pay out of pocket as additional costs that they must pay in the form of tax. This would further motivate the residents themselves.
This does not mean that absolutely all services are paid for. But there are definitely things that residents have to pay for. Lithuania is the only country in Europe that does not have official government bonds.
Currently, the situation in Lithuania is not normal. As a result, the neighbors themselves suffer because they do not receive these services or receive them in the shade. We all have to understand that what we pay will come back to us, ”he said.
According to J. Sejonienė, in general we would increase the possibility for all of us to receive timely and high-quality healthcare services.
“It just came to our knowledge then. That public or private institutions have the same opportunities to collect bonuses or taxes by offering something that a person would further improve by paying that tax.
The government program must write what specific measures are applied and in what areas ”, said the new member of Seimas.
Baublytė: “As if we want a change, but we do not know what is hidden under them”
Aldona Baublytė, head of the Lithuanian Health Workers’ Union, told the tv3.lt news portal that so far we only see general provisions from the coalition that can be included in the government’s program, but she believes that a detailed implementation plan should provide more clarity.
Judging by that ruling, which is perhaps somewhat worrying, we see that the liberals, as has been said, have transferred most of their provisions to the government’s plans, pushing the conservatives a bit, who have already recognized the need to redistribute the budget and build a welfare state.
From this sentence arises a great question about the patient himself. Today, we see that private healthcare is certainly not discriminated against. It only intensifies that she is discriminated against.
Changes are likely to occur. We all seem to want those changes, but at the same time we move forward because we do not know who is behind those changes. If those changes are not supported by financial expression, but only by enthusiasm and the will to show that I am in power, it is a really scary result, ”said A. Baublytė.
According to her, liberals have raised the question of including private healthcare in the national health system in the past, but there have been many questions that are difficult to answer.
“Specifically, in the case of nursing or palliative care, today, there really is no way to set it up and do it, but it is not that simple and it is not easy in this area, there are not many investors.
With all the funding going to the health system, the rates are relatively low and unattractive to the private sector. The question arises immediately: how attractive will the private sector be for the patient, will it be reflected in the price system and the rates will not cover these costs for the private sector, because it will be necessary to increase the premiums, “said A. Baublytė.
In Lithuania, other models of healthcare should be considered
The union director stressed that other models of the healthcare system in Lithuania could be considered, noting that there was a real lack of regulation.
“It just came to our attention then. Health services must be approached according to the quality of service model and have adequate funding.
We have repeatedly said, let’s take our neighbor Latvia, where there is a patient admission fee. It’s a symbolic tax, but it toughens it up a bit. Today, during the quarantine period, next time we see patients behaving irresponsibly, despite restricted access to healthcare facilities, but they fail and it makes sense to come talk to a doctor because they have seen it for so long. weather.
The patient, who arrives at a public institution, says that in the private sector they also gave him tea, music is being played and the spaces are better. The public sector certainly cannot guarantee this today. But, it seems to me that the services are currently in line with the investment that is being made in that service ”, said the interlocutor.
“If finances allow it, why not buy better terms?”
A. Baublytė believes that the system should be regulated, when the patient could pay more and get a better room, tastier food or another service.
“One thing is that food is like medicine for the patient. Another is where you can order food for the patient.
In some countries, a menu is given and a person chooses, if it does not fit in the basket that is financed “in bed”, then the person pays extra. There are all kinds of practices that can really be implemented. If finances allow it, a person can, for that reason, for example, could not buy better conditions for their parents ”, said A. Baublytė.
Economist Sigismund Maurico assures us that we should not expect a radical change from the new government, but those in power must learn from foreign countries where patients have to pay for quality services out of their own pockets.
Notice how the coalition agreed and signed the contract:
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