The government submitted amendments to the Compulsory Health Insurance Act to parliamentary procedure at its session on Wednesday, which, among other things, increase the lowest and highest salary compensation for temporary incapacity for work at the expense of the Croatian Health Insurance Institute, as well as for mothers caring for a sick child.
"With these changes, we are addressing the issue of the most vulnerable group, which are long-term patients, especially oncological and other categories of patients, and the sick leave of the mother of the child for the needs of his care," stressed Health Minister Irena Hrstić.
Therefore, it is proposed to increase the minimum monthly amount of salary compensation from mandatory health insurance during temporary incapacity for work, when paid at the expense of the Croatian Health Insurance Fund, i.e. the state budget, from 110,36 euros to 353,15 euros, i.e. s 25 percent to 80 percent of the budget base, as well as an increase in the maximum monthly amount from 565,04 euros to 995,45 euros, i.e. from 28 to 225,5 percent of the budget base.
"For mothers, it is prescribed that the salary compensation is 100 percent of the base while caring for a sick child, and the age limit for exercising this right is being raised, from three to seven years," the minister added.
The right to compensation for transportation costs related to the exercise of the right to health care from compulsory health insurance is also regulated in a different manner in the amount of 0,025 percent of the budget base per kilometer between the address of the insured person and the address of the contracting entity of the Institute, the health institution abroad to which they are sent for treatment, or the organizational unit of the Institute to which they are invited.
Furthermore, the provisions on the obligation to personally report to the Institute for insured persons who have been determined to have a status in compulsory health insurance on the basis of unemployment and who are not registered with the Croatian Employment Service (HZZ) are also being revised, and who will be obliged to report to the HZZO once every three months, which also applies to persons over 18 years of age who have lost the status of a full-time pupil or full-time student and have registered with the HZZO within 30 days. An exception is prescribed for the period of exercising the right to maternity and parental benefits or if the person is unable to report in person due to their health condition or other justified reason, provided that they have notified the HZZO of the same.
For the implementation of this Act, financial resources have been provided in the financial plan of the Croatian Health Insurance Institute in the estimated amount of 133,7 million euros per year.
Plenković: Fourth step towards providing emergency medical care
The Government also adopted a decision on the acquisition of non-financial assets of the Ministry of Health, which enables the conclusion of a contract for the procurement of 33 special emergency vehicles for the establishment of mobile general/family medicine clinics with medical equipment, office equipment and software in the amount of EUR 5,3 million including VAT. The aim of the mobile clinics is to increase the availability of healthcare to the population in smaller and more difficult-to-reach places and to increase the quality of healthcare services.
"After the strides we have made so far in terms of the emergency helicopter service and boats, of which there are currently six and there will be five more, as well as mobile pharmacies, this is now the fourth step towards providing emergency medical care that we did not have before. These are all the achievements in our three mandates," said Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.
From the three applications, the offer of the community of bidders MS AMBULANCE doo, BENUSSI doo and ELEKTRONIČAR doo was selected, and as stated in the decision, the appeal was filed by the company CIB COMMERCE, but it was rejected, which is why this company initiated an administrative dispute before the High Administrative Court, which rejected the claim.
The procurement is financed entirely from the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, and this decision is necessary given that the value of the non-financial assets exceeds EUR 1,3 million. The deadline for the delivery of all vehicles to the 25 county health centers is 14 months from the date of signing the contract.
The government also supported the implementation of the project for the construction, reconstruction and equipping of the "Regional Center for Palliative Medicine and Pain Management" at the "Dr. Tomislav Bardek" General Hospital in Koprivnica with a capacity of 30 beds, which will provide funds from the state budget for construction works and the purchase of equipment in the amount of up to 10,4 million euros in 2026 and 2027.
Regulation on the distribution of part of the income from games of chance for the year 2025
Amendments to the Law on the Bar have also been submitted to the parliamentary procedure, which equalize the status and treatment of lawyers from EU member states and lawyers from countries acceding to the Code of Liberalization, which was one of the conditions for fulfilling the criteria for Croatia's accession to the OECD.
At the session, the government also adopted the Decree on the criteria for determining beneficiaries and the method of distribution of part of the income from games of chance for the year 2025.
"Based on the estimated revenue from games of chance for 2025, a total of just over 136 million euros is being allocated to civil society organizations," said Finance Minister Marko Primorac.
38,54 percent of the income will be distributed to organizations that promote the development of sports, 3,44 percent to those that contribute to the fight against drug abuse and all other forms of addiction, 12,14 percent to those engaged in social and humanitarian activities, 19,35 percent to those dealing with the problems and meeting the needs of people with disabilities, 2,2 percent to those engaged in technical culture, 13,48 percent to those engaged in culture, 1,32 percent to those engaged in non-institutional education and upbringing of children and youth, and 9,53 percent to those contributing to the development of civil society.
Photo: HINA/Edvard Šušak
