Lithuanian parliamentary majority on Tuesday, after the initial approval, supported amendments to the Health Insurance Law, granting excessive and disproportionate punitive powers to the director of the National Health Insurance Fund (Valstybinė ligonių kasa). Many organizations uniting medical professionals have highlighted this issue, but the Social Democrats have once again disregarded the community’s opinion.
According to Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, the elder of the Seimas Liberal Movement faction, expanding the punitive functions of the National Health Insurance Fund through the proposed draft law will create an atmosphere of fear and constraint in the country’s healthcare institutions.
„The draft reflects a preconceived notion by the former Minister of Health, now an advisor to the Prime Minister, that medical professionals are malicious violators who need to be controlled and punished. It is unacceptable and very surprising when left-wing politicians implement a system of distrust. This will only increase, not solve, problems in the healthcare system,” emphasizes Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, the elder of the Seimas Liberal Movement faction.
Liberals fear that such regulation may reduce the accessibility of healthcare services in the regions and restrict patient rights. „How does such a draft law align with reducing queues and improving service accessibility?” questioned Edita Rudelienė, deputy elder of the Seimas Liberal Movement faction, during the Seimas session on Tuesday.
Although a previously proposed measure to punish not only hospitals or polyclinics but also doctors themselves for errors has been removed from the draft, even with the softened amendments, 111 non-governmental organizations defending the interests of patients and doctors still oppose the changes. Furthermore, the Legal Department of the Seimas points out gaps in the draft, stating that in some cases, a sanction imposed by the director’s unilateral signature is an „extreme measure of influence on an economic entity.”.
