MPs Doubt the Declaration of Residence as a Basis for Healthcare Funding 0 9

At the commission meeting, MPs emphasized that the proposed solution does not increase healthcare funding and creates practical and legal uncertainty, especially for individuals living and working abroad.

The project proposed by the Ministry of Health involves abandoning the so-called two-basket system in healthcare and instead bases the payment for medical services on the principle of tax payment and residency.

According to the draft law, the right to receive medical services under the state mandatory health insurance will be granted to socially insured persons, as well as certain groups of individuals who do not have social insurance but have a declared residence in Latvia for at least one month. Exceptions are provided for particularly vulnerable groups of the population, for whom medical assistance will be provided regardless of declaration or tax payment.

MPs stated, in particular, that the principle of declaration itself is not related to increasing healthcare funding, as declaration is an administrative tool and not a real source of income for the sector. It was also emphasized that the fact of declaring a residence is a voluntary action of a person, which is difficult to effectively control in practice.

During the meeting, MPs also pointed out that, according to the Ministry of Health, in 2024, Latvian citizens declared abroad received medical services in Latvia worth about three million euros. At the same time, it was noted that the total number of Latvian citizens living abroad is significantly higher, and the declaration criterion itself does not reflect a real connection of a person to the national healthcare system.

The commission did not vote on the draft law in the first reading but called on the ministry to continue working on proposals that would clearly delineate groups of individuals and offer solutions to increase healthcare funding.