Health talks fail to resolve differences

Five hour talks on Saturday between representatives of the governing coalition parties designed to address differences over health care reforms have ended with little progress. The talks, attended by representatives of the three coalition parties – the Civic Democrats, Christian Democrats and Greens, were held without the presence of the Health Minister Tomáš Julínek. Ultimately, only two notably less contentious out of four proposed health reform laws were agreed upon by those attending. The two outstanding proposals deal with health insurance and the provision of health related services, with divisions mainly centering over the inclusion of various fees for services proposed and in some cases already passed by the government. The Greens and Christian Democrats have increasingly voiced opposition to the impression of a health system that is not guaranteed to all Czechs, and which depends on the patients’ ability to pay for services. The Christian Democrats have also proposed that controversial doctor’s visitation fees go not to the doctor’s surgeries, but are paid to health insurance providers instead. Health Minister Tomáš Julínek later responded to this proposal by accusing the Christian Democrats of blocking an agreement. Healthcare reforms are an increasingly sensitive issue for the often fractious coalition.