Almost 45,000 workers or about 15.5 percent of the total number of employees in the Republika Srpska in the first half of the year did not have health insurance because employers did not pay contributions for a single month.
The RS Health Insurance Fund states that this is the last data they have, so they cannot say whether there has been a change in the meantime.
“The estimated loss of the Fund’s income due to non-payment of contributions in the first half of 2024 is about 67.5 million BAM. We note that income from employees makes up more than 80 percent of the Fund’s total income from contributions, which speaks volumes about how important each contribution payment is , because the entire health system is financed from them”, they state in the ZO Fund.
At the same time, 1,236 insured persons in the RS pay their own contribution for health insurance on a personal basis. One of the grounds for applying for health insurance is the so-called personal basis when citizens do not have another basis for insurance (they are not employed, etc.), they can apply on this basis and pay their own contribution for health insurance in accordance with the applicable contribution rate, as prescribed by the Law on Contributions. These insured persons pay about 90 BAM per month on the basis of health care contributions.
They remind that the Law on Mandatory Health Insurance provided numerous other insurance bases, so that the most sensitive categories of insured persons, such as children up to 18 years of age, people with no income, pregnant women and women giving birth, people suffering from malignant and other serious diseases, etc., would be covered by the insurance.
However, they can apply on these grounds only if they have no other insurance grounds.
“For example, based on her condition, a pregnant woman can apply for insurance only if she is unemployed, because employers are obliged to pay contributions for employed pregnant women and they cannot apply on any other basis,” explained the ZO RS Fund.
They note that non-payment of contributions not only deprives workers of their health insurance rights, but also threatens the entire health system, which is almost entirely financed by contributions.
“At the same time, we are faced with ever-increasing demands from both the insured and the profession, and without regular payment of contributions it is very difficult not only to expand health insurance rights, but also to preserve the existing scope of rights,” the Fund claims.
They remind that in recent years they have repeatedly launched initiatives to provide additional sources of funding for health, following the example of countries in the region (from excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol, premiums for car liability, etc.).
“Only in this way is it possible to ensure the long-term financial stability of the health system and respond to the challenges posed by modern medicine and pharmacy,” concluded the Health Insurance Fund of the RS.
