If previously a health insurance policy was a special bonus that an employer provided to their employees, it has now become a mandatory condition, public media reports.
Health insurance is the most popular and fastest-growing type of insurance in Latvia, and the number of policies has been increasing over the last 10–15 years. The main reason for this is the long waiting times for state-funded medical services, which forces people to turn to private medical institutions.
As stated by the president of the Latvian Insurers Association, Jānis Abašins, health insurance currently accounts for 23% of the total insurance market, and the total value of policies has reached 185 million euros.
"A company wants to buy a good policy at the most competitive price, while the insurer wants to make a reasonable profit; on the other hand, the client wants to pay less, and the medical institution, accordingly, wants to earn a little more. Overall, these grinding stones are grinding the insurer from both sides," said Abašins.
The number of policies and insurance premiums is growing, but the amount of compensation paid is growing even faster, said a representative of one of the insurance companies in Latvia, Sandra Pietkeviča. She explained that there are several reasons for the increase in prices for medical policies.
"Firstly, there is disproportionately high demand, namely referrals from family doctors to specialists, as well as self-referrals from patients, since people can approach specialists on their own. Against the backdrop of this high demand, there is a shortage of specialists. In such conditions, where demand exceeds supply, excellent conditions are created for the growth of doctors' salary ambitions, which is currently the main driver of cost growth. Secondly, there is an extremely wide range of examinations prescribed already at the first visit, and thirdly, the decreasing availability of state-funded services," explained Pietkeviča.
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