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Slovenia International Health Insurance / Healthcare System |
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Slovenia is located in central Europe between the Alps, the Pannonian Plain, the Balkans and the Mediterranean Sea. It shares its borders with Italy, Austria, Croatia, and Hungary and has a coastline flanking the Adriatic Sea. Slovenia has a population of 2 million people and gained independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, becoming a member of the European Union in 2004.
The healthcare system in Slovenia has been subject to major changes since it gained independence in 1991, with the introduction of a compulsory health insurance scheme and the adoption of the Health Care and Health Insurance Act in 1992. This opened the way for an overhaul of the Slovenian healthcare system, linked to the development of its economy. Also, in the early 1990's, as Slovenia developed into a market based economy, it opened the way for private entities to become established in the healthcare system in the country, with privately run healthcare facilities and insurance company involvement.
The majority of the Slovenian health sector is funded through contributions to a compulsory health insurance scheme, together with premiums for voluntary health insurance and some out of pocket payments.
The Ministry of Health in Slovenia oversees the healthcare system and has overall responsibility for the health sector in the country. The main focus for the Ministry of Health is the financing of the health service and the provision of the associated infrastructure to deliver healthcare programmes on a national level to all citizens in Slovenia. Local municipalities in Slovenia play a relatively small role in the delivery of healthcare services being limited to the provision and maintenance of health facility infrastructure at the primary level. The Ministry of Health’s objective is to continuously develop the health sector in Slovenia by employing a mixture of private and public healthcare services with increasing competition between supply options, including funding and patient choice.
Compulsory health insurance is applied by the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia (HIIS), which was established by the Ministry of Health in accordance with the law on health care and health insurance. The HIIS is a public institution, with a duty to provide an effective process for the collection and distribution of public funds to ensure citizens rights are protected. The HIIS is comprised of 10 regional units and 45 branch offices across Slovenia, with the 10 regional units having the responsibility to contract with healthcare providers.
The compulsory state health fund is designed to provide universal healthcare coverage for citizens of Slovenia. Employees and employers are required to make contributions through deductions from earnings and payroll costs. The Slovenian state will also provide public healthcare services to minors, unemployed spouses, registered unemployed citizens and individuals without a source of income. The state compulsory health insurance principle goal is to provide universal healthcare coverage across Slovenia to all citizens that the state deems eligible. Health insurance numbers are assigned to every citizen at birth and are given to foreign nationals with temporary residential status and/or authorized employment in Slovenia. The health insurance card plays a key role in coordinating the Slovenian healthcare system.
The primary healthcare system in Slovenia consists of 61 healthcare centres with doctors and nurses present offering out-patient care, although these facilities will not be able to provide a wide range of specialist medical services. Slovenian healthcare centres are suitably equipped to provide general practice, maternity care, dental care and child care. The majority of Slovenian healthcare centres will have laboratory, diagnostic and radiological services.
In 2008, the HIIS reported that the national public healthcare network comprised of 221 public institutions and 1,546 private practice doctors and other healthcare professionals.
For patients to use specialist healthcare services at the secondary or tertiary care level in the public sector, they must be referred by a doctor registered with the HIIS. Approximately 75% of secondary care is provided by hospitals, either as in-patient or out-patient care. The Slovenian healthcare system has specialist out-patient activity at the secondary level, which is performed by private healthcare facilities and spas. At a tertiary level, patient treatment will be completed at clinics or specialized health institutes, when more complex procedures are required. Sometimes, a patient’s personal doctor will directly refer a patient to a medical specialist.
There is a shortage of medical professionals in Slovenia, which has affected the quality of service in the healthcare system - most notably the occurrence of long waiting periods to see a GP and for the undertaking of non-emergency surgical procedures. There is also a lack of medical facilities accessible through the HIIS, which also contributes to extended waiting times for patients. Waiting times have been a problem in the Slovenian healthcare system for a number of years, with the HIIS now offering certain incentives to reduce the duration of hospital in-patient stays in order to improve bed availability.
There are some other flaws in the healthcare system in Slovenia, with the lack of health service provision in certain disciplines - such as dental care and certain surgical procedures. There is also concern about rising costs being placed on the Slovenian healthcare system arising from increased salaries, higher technological costs, the aging population and an overall increase in demand for healthcare services with citizen’s general expectations in respect of improvements in healthcare.
In total there are 29 hospitals in Slovenia, 18 catering for general and clinical treatments, 4 for mental conditions, 2 for maternity care, 2 for pulmonary treatments, 2 for orthopedic care, together with 1 rehabilitation centre. Additionally, there are private healthcare facilities providing capacity for cardiovascular surgery, plastic surgery, abdominal surgery, a surgical sanatorium and diagnostic procedures.
The University Medical Centre Ljubljana (UMC Ljubljana) is one the largest hospitals in Slovenia and is located in the capital Ljubljana. It has approximately 2000 beds employees, with 7000 medical and support staff. The UMC Ljubljana is part of the public Slovenian healthcare system, predominately providing secondary and tertiary level medical care; primary care can also be offered in gynaecology. The hospital is one of the largest in central Europe and has the capability to operate an extensive transplantation programme.
Between 2003 and 2006, the Slovenian authorities set up initiatives to encourage private hospitals to be set up as a form of direct foreign investment, although the incentives provided did not achieve the desired objective.
Many Citizens and residents in Slovenia take out private health insurance to give themselves extra medical cover. Voluntary health insurance has developed in Slovenia, partly due to the out-of-pocket payments required under the state run healthcare system, for particularly conditions requiring long periods of treatment, but also to short cut waiting times in the publicly run health service. In 2007, approximately 1.5 million people in Slovenia took out voluntary healthcare insurance.
Privately run healthcare facilities in the Slovenian health sector are predominately clinics providing a variety of healthcare services. These facilities offer patients an extra form of direct care without the waiting times involved with the state healthcare system. Although privately run healthcare providers in Slovenia offer a wide a range of healthcare services, they are limited in the care they can provide for a patient in certain specialized medical fields; a patient would need to rely on the public healthcare system to cater for the specialized procedures outside the scope of the private sector. Private healthcare has been encouraged by the Ministry of Health in Slovenia, and Slovenian private medical insurance is popular among citizens of Slovenia.
Along with other European nations, the Slovenian Ministry of Health has been under pressure to provide adequate funds to meet the increasing costs and demands for the provision of national healthcare services. Measures were introduced in the mid 1990s to ensure the balance between public and privately provided healthcare were equalized to avoid the public sector being unduly burdened with the high cost element of care.
Emergency care provision in Slovenia is comprised of three levels of service and, depending on a person’s medical condition, is provided by a specific emergency team. Emergency medical services are integrated into the Slovenian public healthcare system to provide patients with continuous healthcare. The three organizational levels of emergency care are [a] first-level emergency care covering 45 primary healthcare centres in smaller towns outside regional centres; [b] second-level emergency care is provided by pre-hospital units which include 15 primary healthcare centres in regional capitals; and [c] third-level emergency care provided in hospital emergency service centers in acute care hospitals. Depending on an individual’s medical circumstance the scope of health services is vast and emergency services in Slovenia are well equipped to meet patient’s needs. In the case of vital medical assistance for acute medical needs, a person should dial 112 so a trained medical professional can assess the patient’s specific needs and the most suitable healthcare facility for treatment in proximity to the patient’s location.
Foreign nationals in Slovenia will be required to pay for all healthcare services and treatment provided, while they are in the country. In the case of a non-medical emergency, a foreign patient will normally be expected to wait for a consultation with a doctor or medical specialist in the public healthcare system, however in a medical emergency patients will be seen immediately. Even though the general standard of healthcare services is good in Slovenia, it is strongly recommended that a visitor to the country takes out Slovenian international medical insurance, which should include cover for medical evacuation and medical repatriation in case of an extreme medical circumstance.
As Slovenia is part of the European Union, there is a reciprocal agreement in place for European citizens holding a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) to receive medical treatment while in Slovenia. Registered citizens of a European country are entitled to apply for a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which enables the holder of the card to seek equal access to healthcare facilities available to citizens of the home nation. Foreign nationals with EHIC are still advised to take out comprehensive Slovenian international health insurance, as this will give an individual coverage for medical treatment for a prolonged period of time if necessary; it is important to ensure the policy includes cover for the use of air ambulance services, as the EHIC only covers limited health services, and no international transportation costs.
It is advisable for visitors to Slovenia to consult with a doctor in their home country prior to the journey to obtain vaccinations for tetanus, hepatitis A and B and typhoid as there is a possible risk of contracting these diseases while in the country - especially if you are visiting rural areas in Slovenia. Tick-borne encephalitis is also endemic to central European countries and it is strongly recommended that a vaccination for this condition is obtained by individuals visiting Slovenia.
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Slovenia International Health Insurance |
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If you are looking for peace-of-mind knowing that medical costs will be covered in case of an accident or illness, to yourself and your family, while traveling to or residing in Slovenia, international health insurance plan will be the ideal solution. Policies can be tailor-made to ensure all your needs are met while in Slovenia. Should you require further information on Slovenia, international medical insurance, or to receive a free quotation, please do not hesitate to call one of our expert advisers now.
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