Kosovars continue to seek life medicine outside public institutions

By November, according to the statistics, 1079 applications in total from the past years, and it's obviously declining... if we refer to the early years, from 2019 where there were a total of 1426 applications, we're already at the level of 1100 applications within the year... There are some of the clinics, which have previously had very large references, while now the number of references is markedly smaller than Oncology, Oftalomology, Cardiology”, he said.

Keka shows that Turkey and the countries of the region like Albania and Northern Macedonia are the countries where Kosovo patients are seeking recovery. He added that with visa liberalisation, patients' chances for finding their medicine have increased.

There are more of the clinics now in Nuclear Medicine, Paddy, Ortopedia, and others. But, in total, it is also relevant to highlight on the basis of the establishment of infrastructure by the MSH and KKUK in relevant clinics, we consider that the number of references will go into reduction in the years to come. Because investments have become numerous and you see most of the services already being carried out in public institutions. 03/03 Mainly there are orthopedics, mountain diseases that are not addressed here, transplants which are prohibited by law in Kosovo, are these some diseases that have references at the most”, Keka said.

Keka says the 8m-euro budget for 2024 has been spent, and for the current year there are 10m euros available, while the Health Insurance Fund owes 18m euros to private institutions in Kosovo and abroad.

“in 2024 has been allocated 8m euros and the same is currently spent 100%, on the basis of real needs we have applied for additional budgets and the same Finance Ministry has approved and by 2025 the budget for the category of subsidies we have 10m euros for treatment of patients outside public institutions... By the end of last year, we have had a debt of about 30m euros, yet the MSH, along with the Ministry of Finance, seeing that the trend is growing and obligations have remained untainted, has made decisions, and at the end of last year have been allocated 15m euros, which have been spent in full order to reduce these obligations to private institutions. Currently the value of obligations is about 18m euros”, the FSF director said.

Concerned about the large number of patients who continue to seek health care outside public health institutions are expressed by the Association of Patients' Rights in Kosovo.

Head PRAK, Besim Kodra, says that despite investments being made especially at the University Clinical Centre in Kosovo, the demand of patients for health care outside public hospitals continues to be high.

We've seen more investments that have been made, especially at KKUK and less in regional hospitals, that under normal conditions, should reduce patients' demand for treatment outside public institutions... The truth is that a large number of patients are still going out of public institutions, even in other states, and their treatment costs are high. This, in addition to burdening the state budget, also burdens the family budget, because access costs are not always covered, in most cases not. Patients have flights, residences, their treatment costs are extremely high, and the state must make maximum efforts that all service”, Kodra said.

Although only in 2024 over a thousand citizens sought healing in private hospitals, the director of the University Clinical Hospital Service of Kosovo, Elvir Azazi, says there is a constant reduction in the demands of patients receiving treatment abroad.

There's a constant reduction in service requirements abroad, but one must understand that some of the services will always require treatment abroad...12\07 I think the first cause has been a restriction our professionals have had for continued training in other advanced medical centers.

The second one, which has affected as many strategic investments in health equipment, which have been important. But I can say that we are very pleased with the actions we first did at the Oncology Clinic, where it is actually reinforced and reinforced in a continuous manner with a new Oncology clinic and we are pleased with the Key Committee on the Essencial List, which each year is increasing the range of oncology products or incommoral chemotherapy that are increasing on the essential list<x>, he said.

Kosovo citizens have no health insurance, since the law on compulsory health care has been adopted in the Assembly, but is currently located in Constitutional. / KP/