DISCUSSION "Impact of legislative changes on health insurers"
The delayed reimbursement decree keeps healthcare in uncertainty: insurers and providers are waiting until they can conclude full-fledged contracts. Although sector spending is rising year-on-year, needs are growing even faster and hard spending limits are coming into play. The debate therefore revolves around realistic savings, quality of care, and maintaining continuity for the patient. The reimbursement decree has long failed to be issued on time, which shortens the window for negotiations and complicates agreement on contractual terms. Insurers and clinics temporarily extend contracts for a month or two and "pre-negotiate" technical topics with no financial impact. However, they can address the key figures only after it is published, because prices and limits are derived from it. Spending limits make the situation tougher: the three insurers together have approximately 8.3 billion euros for healthcare. That reduces the chance of additional top-up funding during the year. If the planned savings do not materialize, the sector may hit a hard ceiling with no easy "plan B".The delayed decree and its consequences
Marian Faktor
Peter Sloboda
