Coalition rejects Health Ministry’s request to extend deadline for development of criteria on health care financing

RIGA – The coalition has rejected the Health Ministry’s request to extend by a year the deadline for development of the criteria on health care financing, Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis’ (Greens/Farmers) spokesman Andrejs Vaivars told LETA.

The Health Ministry in line with the Law on Health Care Financing by August 1 had to develop and submit to the parliament criteria for government funding to health care services. The ministry has not completed this task and has asked the coalition to extend this deadline for a year.

Saeima public health subcommittee chairman Romualds Razuks told LETA that the Unity party believes that this bill is necessary, therefore it objected to postponing its deadline.

It is not clear what further steps of the Health Ministry will be. Health Ministry’s parliamentary secretary Janos Trupovnieks (Greens/Farmers) told LETA that adoption of the bill would be the matter of honor of the present parliament and Health Minister Anda Caksa (Greens/Farmers).

Trupovnieks named a number of reasons why preparation of the bill has been delayed – it has been the summer vacation time, everybody is very careful with new initiatives before the upcoming parliament elections, etc.

As reported, Saeima social and labor affairs committee lawmaker Andrejs Klementjevs (Harmony) pointed out that the bill has not been prepared and submitted to the Saeima by August 1. Klementjevs asked Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis the reasons for that and whether it is necessary to demand resignation of Health minister Anda Caksa.