Zdeněk Kabátek remains Director of VZP

The Board of Directors of the General Health Insurance Company (VZP) today confirmed Zdeněk Kabátek as Director of VZP. 25 members of the board voted for his appointment, five abstained. The board did not propose any other candidate for the head of VZP.

The CEO of VZP is appointed and dismissed by the company's 30-member Board of Directors. In this case, the decision requires the consent of a supermajority of all members of the Board of Directors (not just those present). Zdeněk Kabátek was first appointed head of the largest domestic health insurance company on 1 December 2012.

"VZP will face many challenges in the coming years, whether in the area of consolidation of finances, development of telemedicine, digitalization of society or the necessary strengthening of prevention. Thus, the General Health Insurance Corporation needs an experienced manager at its head who will be able to solve the problems and take the necessary systemic steps. Zdeněk Kabátek meets these requirements. I believe that thanks to this we will be able to successfully bridge the next challenging period," Says Tom Philipp, Chairman of the Board of Directors of VZP ČR.

According to him, under Kabátek's leadership, the insurance company has been significantly stabilized since 2012, and he appreciated, among other things, the development of centre-based care, the improvement of patients' access to the latest medicines, as well as the building of the insurance company's own IT system. "I also consider the handling of the Ukrainian crisis, which VZP had to deal with without delay, to be exemplary." Philipp added.

Commenting on his election, Kabátek said: "I very much appreciate the decision of the Board of Directors. I see it first and foremost as an appreciation of my work so far, but also as a commitment for the years to come. The next period will be more challenging than the previous ones in terms of consolidating healthcare financing. A large part of the effort will rest on health insurance companies.

We must first and foremost look at solving problems through the lens of patients. Ensuring they have access to state-of-the-art care, while maintaining the stability of the system. I say this in the full knowledge that the upward pressure on healthcare spending is increasing, making it more and more challenging every year to maintain the desired balance.

One of the strategic goals of the General Health Insurance Company that needs to be completed and to which I subscribe with all seriousness is the transformation of acute inpatient care, which can be a significant milestone in the necessary reform steps. From the point of view of VZP itself, I consider the most important to be the transformation of the General Health Insurance Company into a modern digital and data-oriented company."

Ing. Zdeněk Kabátek (1970) started his professional career as a project manager at ČEZ - Elektrárna Temelín. Subsequently, he gained managerial and professional experience while working at the hospital in Písek, and in the private sphere he was engaged in engineering and investment activities. Since 2006 he was the Chief Director for directly managed organisations, then Chief Director for Economics of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic. Zdeněk Kabátek is married and has three children.

vzp.cz/ gnews - RoZ

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