Health minister unveils plans to privatize all health insurers bar VZP

The Health Minister Tomáš Julínek has unveiled plans to streamline the country’s health insurance system, proposing the privatization of all health insurers except VZP – the biggest state-owned insurance provider. Around 60% of Czechs are currently insured by VZP, while the remaining 40% are insured by a mixture of state and privately-owned insurance companies. Mr Julínek’s plans have come under fire from the opposition Social Democrats, who say that the privatization of state-run health insurers could lead to private insurers siphoning off public money. But Mr Julínek responds that privatization is required to increase cost-efficiency, saying that at the moment, health insurance companies are ‘unable to fulfill their role, which is to protect their clients’. The plans will be discussed by the cabinet on Wednesday.