29.07.2008 - Health fees for Czech new-born babies cancelled
The cancellation of the fees also relates to the organ donors, residents of centres for the elderly Czech Charles University may stop teaching medical students ...
New deadline for Zimbabwe's vote ... and those whose treatment was ordered by the court.
The fees will no longer be paid after the legislation appears in the Law Gazette.
Since January, Czechs have paid 30 crowns per visit to a doctor and per item on a prescription, 90 crowns for after hours and 60 crowns per day in hospital within a package of government reforms of public finances.
The cancellation of the fees for new-born babies in maternity clinics as well as some selected groups was agreed on by the governing coalition in early June.
The opposition also wants the elderly and children under 18 to be exempted from the payment.
Health Minister Tomas Julinek (the Civic Democratic Party, ODS) said visits to specialists and emergency aid centres had decreased by 28 percent and 45 percent respectively in the first three months of the year.
The number of days of hospital treatment was shortened by 10 percent.
In all, 1.03 billion crowns have been collected from the compulsory fees, Julinek said.
Thanks to the measures, roughly 2.62 billion crowns were moved to costly treatment in the first three months of the year, he added.
(Ceske Noviny)
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