Eesti in brief - 2012-04-26

The expenses of the Estonian Health Insurance Fund grew by 4 percent in 2011, to 725.5 million euros, reports Public Broadcasting. The number of people with health insurance fell, at the same time, by 10,800 to 1.25 million. 981,600 people went to see their family doctor, which was by 24,500 more than in 2010. General healthcare required 66 million euros or 2 percent more. Specialized doctors’ services were used last year by 807,900 insured people, this nearly 11,000 more. The expenses grew by 4 percent to 417 million. The ambulatory visit of one person cost the Estonian Health Insurance Fund an average of 45 euros, and treatment in a hospital 1,008 euros. Medicines were bought for 6.9 million prescriptions that were partially compensated for, by 255,900 more than a year earlier. The average cost of a partially compensated prescription fell by 1 euro, to 13 euros, for the state while the average sum people had to pay was 6.95 euros per prescription.

Estonian state-owned entrepreneurship development foundation Enterprise Estonia launched on Monday in Moscow and St. Petersburg a marketing campaign that lasts till the end of May that aims to introduce Estonia as an attractive and close-to-the-nature destination for spending a summer vacation, reports Postimes Online. Enterprise Estonia tourism development center director Tarmo Mutso said that the spring campaign for Eastern neighbors takes place for the first time. “For many years, we have invited Russian residents to spend Christmas and New Year’s here. The record growth of the number of Russian tourists and increasing interest towards visiting Estonia has created good grounds for offering them actively vacationing possibilities or summer months too,” he said. Mutso said that anther positive factor is the improving transport connections, especially in the St. Petersburg direction: plane traffic has become more frequent, a new ship route is operating and soon a train will start operating. In 2011, over 203,000 Russian tourists visited Estonia, growth of 43 percent in a year.

Ships that fish with demersal trawls in Lakes Peipsi, Lammijarv and Pihkva will be supplied with tracking devices that helps to improve the supervision over use of fish reserves in these lakes, reports Public Broadcasting. Estonian Environment Minister Keit Pentus said that by installing GPS tracking devices on these ships, an international obligation is being adhered to and, thus, the control over the use of fish reserves in the lakes, especially when fishing tools with high capacity are concerned, improves. The Russian side will also supply its ships with corresponding devices and, thus, similar control over the whole lake will be achieved, the Ministry said. This is a pilot project where first the demersal trawls are targeted, before expanding the requirement to all vessels. All demersal trawl ships have to be supplied with the devices by September.