Beblavy Calls on Fico to Shut Down Klinika Kostka

Beblavy Calls on Fico to Shut Down Klinika Kostka

Bratislava, February 4 (TASR) – Non-parliamentary #Siet (Network) party called upon Prime Minister Robert Fico on Thursday to abrogate a contract the state-owned health insurer Vseobecna Zdravotna Poistnovna (VsZP) has concluded with a clinic called Klinika Kostka.

“Slovak policyholders are contributing every day to doctor [Pavol] Kostka’s daily personal profit of €5,000 even as we speak, at this very moment,” Network vice-chair and MP Miroslav Beblavy said on the same day.
Beblavy pointed out that this occurs under the Prime Minister who has ostensibly rejected profits in health care. “In all likelihood, Mr. Kostka has become the entrepreneur with largest profits in Slovak health care, if not in the whole of Slovakia,” said Beblavy. He perceives the profit rate (54.5 percent) of the “Government masseur” to be alarming, as Kostka is bound to earn 54 cents out of every euro, a figure that highly exceeds the profitability of Penta group’s hospital network (23.8 percent), successful Slovak-owned global firm Eset {26.5 percent) or even the highly-profitable “firm of aunt Anka” (33.9 percent) [a reference to recent scandal, where VsZP awarded health-care provision contracts to the firm owned by former VsZP director’s aunt – ed.note]. The profits of Kostka Clinic ratcheted up from €8,000 in 2012 to €794,000 in 2014.
In late 2015, VsZP inked an addendum to the contract with Klinika Kostka, in which it ordered services worth €3.2 million, which amounts to payments of €10,000 daily. Beblavy pointed that health treatments at the clinic are not secured by any certified doctors, but a single expert guarantor. According to findings reported by Novy Cas daily, the guarantor is pensioner Gregor Sinay, who is on long-term sick leave and receives €400 monthly. “The quality of provided health care is thus completely ridiculous,” concluded Beblavy, who see no other solution but to shut down the clinic. If Smer-SD fails to do so, Network will close it if in government.