Kosovars without minimum health insurance for four years

Tens, if not hundreds of millions of euros, of Kosovo's citizens spend each year on medical treatment abroad.

For the first time, a Law on Health Insurance was adopted in 2007. 16 years after, citizens still have no health insurance. At the month of June, according to the health minister, it is expected to finalise the initial step for the process.

The “Health Information System has begun the feasibility study process by an extremely well-known German company, and this study is expected to be completed in the second part of June, and at the first moment to complete this feasibility study, the recommendations will be received from this study and investment will start immediately as the precondition for health insurance”, said Arben Vitita, minister of Health.

The health information system, according to Minister Vitita, will be finalised for a year and a half maximum, while living health insurance will be further delayed.

Until everyone said it could be in 10 months and 12 months, it was a wish fountain. The health insurance fund, health insurance can't be made over a four-year period because it's impossible, this is worldwide”, he shot.

The chairman of the Association of Patients is not as optimistic as the head of health. Besim Kodra says there are several other preconditions for health insurance, which, according to him, will resolve the poor health situation in Kosovo.

“Their 18% patients are not going to the doctor at all in the inability to pay the financial fees, 34% are having financial difficulties to secure services, 40% are pocket payments based on O recommendations The BSH must be under 20%”, Besim Kodra, chairman of the Association of Patients, said.

Kodra says public health institutions are not licensed because they do not meet much of the required conditions, for which even after the health insurance implementation, patients will flood private hospitals.

Even members of the opposition Commission for Health say the Government does not believe health insurance will be realised.

Shemsedin Dresaj stresses how opposition on the commission is very interested and will be constructive in this process, which is not being realised for the blame and inability of the government “Kurti”.

“Agenda has become laws, but they are never finalised, with the coming of new governance everything started from the beginning. Even this legislature has the law on health insurance, but that law has found in the past year it has not been debated, it is this year we are in half of the year and there is still no beginning in sight of an end to it”, said Health Commission member Shemsedin Dresaj.

In 2009 the law on health insurance was withdrawn because of the budget. Meanwhile, the new health - insurance law was passed in 2014 but was never implemented. The few citizens with health insurance are available only through private companies.