104 Kosovars sought healing abroad, cancer cases lead

So has made it known about Online Economy, the director of the Health Insurance Fund, Fatmir Plakiqi.

According to him, there have also been requests of patients for out-of-country treatment that have been rejected due to the failure to complete the documentation needed.

There's a total of 1436 patients who have been looking for us, applied to us for outside treatment, meaning 1404 have benefited from the programme, their requests have been approved. While as 100 patients are reported, we have met perhaps for the first time in many years the number of free patients we have agreements with the Ministry of Health of Turkey, which this number has been completed since November, we have met 100 patients for free. So as a total it's 1404, there's also been rejections of some of them, due to the failure to complete or conduct of all relevant documentation has been rejected by the board part, by the medical commission. But this is seen as we approved for 2019”, Placiqi told Online Economy.

While patients have not had access to QKUK, the number of treatment requirements abroad has increased year-on-year.

According to Plakiqi, during the past year there has been a trend of a decline in reference to patients for treatment abroad by the Cardiology Clinic.

However, there has been an increase from the ophthalmology clinic.

“As far as the number is concerned, the number is roughly the same as a mobility, or the difference in cardiology, and there's a decline in number, and the growing number we've noticed is in the section that they've referred to in the ophthalmology clinic, and we also have an increasing number of these two and maybe the orthopedics are somewhere over 50 percent with all references made by the QKUKUKUKU-”, he told Online Economics.

The old man further indicated that the biggest demands for treatment abroad are for malignant tumors or diseases, where last year have been 400 cases.

“Those leading out of number, tumors or mountain diseases are a total of over 400 cases, we also have eye disease or ophthalmology somewhere in over 350 cases, and we also have injuries, severe poisonings that come in for outside treatment, skin disease from the pediatrics”, Plackiqi said, stressing that the list for treatment abroad constitutes children and the elderly.

Meanwhile, from the QKUK Information Office, they say that references abroad are made to transplant cases, acute leukemia, as well as diseases for which no treatment is provided at QKUK clinics.

“general references are made to transplant cases, acute leukemia as serious cases, but also diseases for which the current treatment is not provided in the QKU clinics. Within KKUK clinics, there are medical consultations that in cases when treatment cannot be offered in clinics, then refer through a patient's form for treatment outside public health institutions. This form includes three clinic specialists and the director of the clinic, namely, everything is established in a consecutive manner of”, says the response of the Information Office.

On the other hand, Plakiqi expresses a concern for the insufficient budget, which is 6m euros.

“We have regularly raised our voices and asked the Ministry of Finance to have the opportunity, or to see the possibility of raising the budget for this programme because we are under extraordinary pressure, budgetary divisions, from historical data over the years, have been regularly from 6 million euros, at the end of the year have always shared an additional part in the budget, but has always been insufficient to close all cases, for payment of all cases”, he indicated.

Aging suggests that there is constant pressure from family members because there are patients waiting up to a year until payment is made for treatment abroad. But the cause for this, according to Plakiqi, is the lack of budget.

I waited so long, for someone to be fatal.

We are under tremendous pressure from the patient's family. Perhaps the patient is waiting for payment and loses his life because of waiting and the lack of time to treat that patient. It is definitely very long and we have pressure from the family of patients to make these payments faster, so that the patient may be able to go into treatment, but budget failure, no possibility, no budget”, he said.

However, Plaquiq says that cases that are urgent are immediately issued by a booking that will cover the Fund.

Plaqi, hopes that in 2020, the budget will reach at least 9m or 10m euros.

We know the problems that exist in drafting or in meeting all the needs of the budgetary organisations, but we hope that it will reflect for 2020 it will reflect and it will have at least not 6 million, but at least 9-10 million that it has been very helpful to stabilize the part of the program normally that needs are about 12 million but that the opportunity will be seen again has the end of the year to meet any event that we might have”, he stressed.