engleski

PATIENT'S WILLINGNESS TO CO-FINANCE HIGHER LEVELS OF HEALTHCARE

The existing financing system of the healthcare of the Republic of Croatia poses challenges to all stakeholders involved in the process of treatment. Modern medicine develops daily and offers new, better, more efficient and less unpleasant procedures for diagnosis and treatment. The development also influence on increased costs of healthcare. Healthcare providers at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels are scarcely paying and thus generate financial losses in the health sector. Public health financing in the Republic of Croatia is implemented according to the Bismarck model based on the principles of solidarity and reciprocity, and is collected through a compulsory contributions to health insurance paid to the Croatian Health Insurance Fund. Partial co-financing is collected through a complementary health insurance system. It is anticipated that the current gap between the available financial resources and the cost of health services will continue to increase in the future. In order to reduce the existing gap, one of the possible solutions is voluntary co-financing of higher-level of healthcare within the patient's own resources. The aim of this paper is to investigate whether patients treated at the Našice County General Hospital are willing and interested to co-finance an additional - higher level of healthcare than the one available from existing health insurance. The study was conducted on an example of 206 patients treated at the Našice County General Hospital during January and February 2018. Survey questionnaires were set for 206 patients. According to the financial situation in the micro-region that gravitates to hospitals, the level of services provided by hospital, the habits of patients (consumers), age etc., expected results of the research point at unconcerned co-financing of treatment by most of the patients.

healthcare, public health, financing of healthcare, treatment

nije evidentirano