Czech group to protest corruption in foreigners' health insurance

Tomorrow, Tuesday, 21 December, a “happening” will take place to protest ongoing corruption in the process of approving commercial health insurance for foreigners in the Czech Republic. The event by the ProAlt Initiative for Criticism of Reforms and Support for Alternatives will be held at 11:30 AM in front of the Chamber of Deputies on the occasion of the approval of an amendment to the law on the residence of foreigners. The Czech Senate previously returned the amendment to the lower house; it now contains new legal arrangements for the commercial health insurance of foreigners.

Foreigners belong in public health insurance

ProAlt wants to draw attention to the fact that commercial health insurance is disadvantageous for foreigners (since the insurance terms exclude them from coverage for a great deal of medical care), disadvantageous for health care facilities (since care provided to an “insured” foreigner will not necessarily be reimbursed), and in the final analysis, disadvantageous for the public budget as well (the majority of foreigners who are the most ill, such as children born with congenital defects, eventually have their care covered by the state for humanitarian reasons). On the other hand, commercial insurance is very advantageous for the insurance companies, as foreigners have no choice but to buy their products or be denied residency.

“The only solution is to include foreigners residing long-term in the Czech Republic into the public health insurance system. Not only is this customary in other states, it would also be economically advantageous for the system, as the foreigners are clearly a profitable group of insurance subscribers given their demographic structure,” says Pavel Čižinský, spokesperson for ProAlt.

Corruption during approval of the amendment

Another aim of the “happening” is to draw attention to the lack of transparency in how the amendment was approved. As NGO representatives reported on 9 December 2010 to the director of the Czech Interior Ministry’s Asylum and Migration Policy Department, Tomáš Haišman, the lobbying in both houses of parliament has reached the level of corruption.

On 18 August, the Nečas government approved a particular legislative arrangement for commercial health insurers, but on a third reading the lower house suddenly approved a completely different piece of legislation on the issue without giving any explanation or rationale. The “comprehensive care” legislation approved by the lower house does not address all of the unacceptable loopholes in existing law (with respect to payments for elective health care procedures), but it will evidently inflate the cost of insuring foreigners by sixfold. Currently health insurance costs approximately CZK 3 000 a month and must often be paid as much as two years in advance.

A Christmas gift to the insurance companies, a memento of corruption for the MPs

The event will take the form of presenting a Christmas gift to insurance companies that insure foreigners. “We want to show that the amendment to the foreigners’ law is a gift to the insurance companies. Those firms will be able to squeeze hundreds of millions out of foreigners in the Senate’s bill passes and billions if the lower house version passes. Presents belong under the Christmas tree, not in legislation,” says Čižinský. The MPs will also be given a miniature carp, which has come to signify corruption thanks to a recent scandal in Czech football.

Health care “reform” heading the same direction

According to ProAlt, it is in the interests of Czech citizens to pay attention to the unfair position of foreigners with respect to health insurance, as the Nečas government is heading in that direction for everyone as part of its health care “reform” (i.e., partially privatizing health care by introducing the concept of “above-standard” care). It is no coincidence that the approved “comprehensive care” amendment was introduced in the lower house by Czech MP Marek Šnajdr, who was once a deputy to former Czech Health Minister Julínek and who today is the chair of the administrative board of the country’s largest health insurance company, Všeobecná zdravotní pojišťovna.