This analysis of the Slovak health system reviews recent developments in organization and governance, health financing, health-care provision, health reforms and health system performance. The health care system in Slovakia is based on universal coverage, compulsory health insurance, a basic benefit package and a competitive insurance model with selective contracting of health care providers. Containment of health spending became a major policy goal after the 2008 financial crisis. Health spending stabilized after 2010 but remains well below European averages. Some health indicators, such as life expectancy, healthy life years and avoidable deaths are worrisome. Furthermore, weak hospital management, high numbers of unused acute beds, overprescribing pharmaceuticals, and poor gatekeeping of the system all lead to over-utilization of services and system inefficiency. This suggests substantial room for improvement in delivery of care, especially for primary and long-term care. Additionally, there is inequity in the distribution of health providers, resulting in lengthy travelling distances and waiting times for patients. Given the ageing workforce, this trend is likely to continue. Current strategic documents and reform efforts aim to address the lack of efficiency and accountability. There has been a strong will to tackle these challenges but this has often been hindered by a lack of political consensus over issues such as the role of the state, the appropriate role of market mechanisms and profits, as well as the extent of out-of-pocket payments. Successive governments have taken different positions on these issues since the establishment of the current health system in 2002, and major reforms remain to be implemented.

• MeSH
• Long-Term Care organization & administration   MeSH
• Healthcare Financing * MeSH
• Quality of Health Care MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Delivery of Health Care economics   legislation & jurisprudence   organization & administration   MeSH
• Primary Health Care organization & administration   MeSH
• Universal Health Insurance MeSH
• Health Expenditures MeSH
• Insurance, Health MeSH
• Health Policy * MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Geographicals
• Slovakia MeSH

This analysis of the Czech health system reviews recent developments in organization and governance, health financing, health-care provision, health reforms and health system performance. The Czech health-care system is based on compulsory statutory health insurance providing virtually universal coverage and a broad range of benefits, and doing so at 7.7 % of GDP in 2012 - well below the EU average - of which a comparatively high 85 % was publicly funded. Some important health indicators are better than the EU averages (such as mortality due to respiratory disease) or even among the best in the world (in terms of infant mortality, for example). On the other hand, mortality rates for diseases of the circulatory system and malignant neoplasms are well above the EU average, as are a range of health-care utilization rates, such as outpatient contacts and average length of stay in acute care hospitals. In short, there is substantial potential in the Czech Republic for efficiency gains and to improve health outcomes. Furthermore, the need for reform in order to financially sustain the system became evident again after the global financial crisis, but there is as yet no consensus about how to achieve this.

• MeSH
• Child MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Healthcare Financing * MeSH
• Infant MeSH
• Medical Assistance MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Adolescent MeSH
• Young Adult MeSH
• Infant, Newborn MeSH
• Delivery of Health Care organization & administration   MeSH
• Child, Preschool MeSH
• Health Care Reform organization & administration   MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Government Programs economics   MeSH
• Universal Health Insurance economics   MeSH
• Health Expenditures MeSH
• Health Policy economics   MeSH
• Health Resources MeSH
• Check Tag
• Child MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Infant MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Adolescent MeSH
• Young Adult MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Infant, Newborn MeSH
• Child, Preschool MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Evaluation Study MeSH
• Geographicals
• Czech Republic MeSH