SaS: Benefits Should Be Left up to Health Insurers to Decide (2)

Bratislava, April 17 (TASR) - It's necessary to leave the decision on benefits up to health insurers, MPs Jana Bitto Ciganikova and Tomas Szalay (both SaS) stated in response to the recent decision to scrap dental benefits of policyholders, TASR learnt on Wednesday. The lawmakers pointed out that it is the benefits that enable the health insurance companies to differ from each other and also motivate patients to embrace health prevention. A compromise solution, in SaS' view, could be the setting of financial limits on benefits offered by insurance companies. "It shouldn't be the role of the government or the Health Ministry. It should be the role of health insurers to decide whether or not there will be any benefits and under what terms they would be drawn," claimed Szalay. Bitto Ciganikova pointed out that dental benefits are one of the most successful ways to motivate patients to participate in preventive checkups. "It's much better than invitations to checkups, education, fearmongering and the like," she said. According to Bitto Ciganikova, the dental benefits have not only contributed towards increased preventive checkups but have also improved dental health of the people. Last but not least, they were a significant financial support for people visiting dentists. mf/mcs