Czechs admit the need for health reform but don’t like the way it is being done

The vast majority of Czechs are convinced that the health care system needs reform but more than half of them don’t approve of the reforms being implemented, according to the outcome of a poll conducted by the STEM agency late this month. Out of 77 percent of respondents who advocated the need for reform 40 percent said that the changes introduced by the centre-right government on January 1 would not improve the quality of health care in the Czech Republic. Among other things, the reforms introduced direct fees for medical services with Czechs paying 30 crowns for a visit to the doctor, 60 crowns for a day in hospital and 90 crowns for emergency treatment.