Health Ministry unveils brochure informing patients of healthcare fees

The health minister, Tomas Julinek, presented a brochure on Tuesday informing Czechs of the fees they can expect to pay on a visit to the doctor as of 2008. The brochure will be published as a supplement to the dailies Mlada Fronta Dnes on Friday and Pravo on Saturday. The guide, which is published by the Health Ministry, outlines the case for healthcare fees in the Czech Republic, and informs Czechs how much they can expect to pay for a visit to the doctor’s or to the emergency room. Healthcare fees were approved as part of the government’s public finance reform bill in August this year. The health minister admits that they were one of the most controversial facets of the reform package, but insisted on Tuesday that they were necessary to ‘prevent waste’ in the healthcare system.