The Ministry of Health will request €8.428 million from contingency funds for the Clinical University Hospital of Stradins and the Riga East Clinical University Hospital to ensure the continuity of medical services and cover rising costs.
The Ministry of Health explains that €4.136 million of this amount is intended to partially raise the basic tariff of the two hospitals by diagnosis groups to the level of 2024, while €1.107 million is needed to ensure the continuity of planned hospital services. €3.185 million is required for emergency care.
For hospitals, state funding is calculated according to the so-called diagnosis-related group system. This system is used for accounting, analyzing, and paying for state-funded medical services provided to patients in hospitals. The system is based on individual accounting of diagnoses, procedures performed, and patient data such as age, gender, and length of treatment. This information is summarized and analyzed using specific coefficients that determine how much the state will pay the hospital for a particular treatment.
The Ministry of Health notes that the aging population and the prevalence of chronic diseases are putting increasing pressure on the hospital system, and existing tariffs do not cover the actual costs of treatment.
The ministry points out that at the beginning of this year, a reduced basic coefficient for diagnosis groups was set for both hospitals at 91.5% compared to 94% in 2024.
A one-time allocation of funds will partially compensate for this difference to a level of 92.7% and ensure the continuity of treatment for about 90,000 patients, the ministry explained.
Without additional funding, by the end of the year, waiting times for services may increase, and medical services may be severely limited.
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