According to the results for the first half of this year, the General Health Insurance Company (VZP) of the Czech Republic expects a deficit of CZK 7.5 billion. This result corresponds to the plan for 2025, which envisaged a loss of CZK 7.7 billion. Last year, the insurer ended up with a deficit of just under CZK 5 billion. The information was presented at a press conference after a meeting of the board of directors by its chairman Tom Philipp (KDU-ČSL). This year, the public health insurance as a whole is managing with an amount of about 504 billion crowns.

The VZP health insurance plan for 2025 had already assumed from the beginning that the basic health insurance fund would end up in negative figures. The deficit was supposed to reach CZK -7.7 billion and was to be covered from the financial reserves of previous years. VZP estimated that at the end of 2024 it would have CZK 31.3 billion in all funds. By the end of 2025, this amount should fall to approximately CZK 24.6 billion.

At the same time, the VZP plan points to the need to slow the rate of cost growth. In recent years, spending has grown faster than was sustainable in the long term. Therefore, for 2025, the insurer expects an increase in the cost of health services by 4.7 %, or roughly CZK 13.8 billion. On the revenue side, VZP wants to increase the efficiency of premium collection and strengthen the automation of debt collection processes. The expenditure side is to be optimised mainly through changes in reimbursements.

The current outturn is therefore in line with the approved budgetary trajectory. According to VZP management, there are no deviations so far that would require extraordinary measures. Chairman of the Board Tom Philipp emphasized that the development is in line with expectations and financial stability is ensured thanks to the reserves from previous years.

VZP's strategic documents also confirm that maintaining the availability and quality of healthcare for more than six million insured persons remains a priority. The insurer focuses on continuous adaptation of the network of health service providers and optimization of reimbursement mechanisms. In the future, it also wants to strengthen its audit and control activities to ensure efficient and transparent management of public health insurance funds.

VZP/gnews.cz - GH