GPI Holding: Taxes will Increase and Services for Insurance Companies May also Rise in Value
Following the hospital sector, insurance companies have also reacted to the first reform launched by Health Minister Ekaterina Tikaradze under the government resolution No. 520.
Tinatin Stambolishvili, communications director for GPI Holding company noted that amid the mentioned reforms, clinics will try to compensate losses. As a result, insurance packages will rise in value, she said.
“In this situation, clinics will try to compensate their losses. Naturally, this tendency will be reflected on patients too, because taxes will increase and consequently, services for insurance companies will also rise in value. Finally, insurance packages will become also expensive. Eventually, this reform will affect pocket payments too.
The Government is an only financial source in the universal health program, but it cannot ensure full control over costs. Moreover, not only inflation has raised prices of medical services, but also our attitudes.
Private companies cope with reporting management much better, compared to the Authorities. Therefore, we believe that private insurance sector should intensify efforts in the health sector, like the previous years, when the private sector used to co-fund the part of the costs that today are covered by the Authorities. We believe that the private sector will fulfill the mission better. The talks were underway on redirecting more costs to the private sector and this position particularly refers to employees and this signifies employers will insure their staff under mandatory conditions. This decision would essentially alleviate state budget burdens.
It is also important that the program beneficiaries be able to enjoy private insurance packages, preferential packages that we had and that used to compensate costs for medicines, outpatient and other similar services. Today they cannot enjoy this opportunity. Universal Health Program runs, but pocket payments grow year to year”, Tinatin Stambolishvili said.
We remind you that despite the demand of 26 medical facilities and the field associations, the Health Ministry refused to postpone the government resolution No 250 for a period of 6 months that was enforced on November 21.
Objective of the reform is to even tariffs, however the medical sector representative note that prices on such developed high-technology and importance medical sectors as cardio surgery, electrophysiology, neurology and so on have been extremely declined, because the tariffs under the resolution are much lower compared to the prime costs of these services.