Ensuring financial sustainability of health system in Estonia

Hannes DanilovHead of Management Board

JOINT OECD AND WHO MEETING ON FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY OF HEALTH SYSTEMS TALLINN, ESTONIA 28-29, JUNE, 2012

Estonian Health Insurance Fund (EHIF)

• Established 2001‐ independent legal body (semi-public)‐ acts under Health Insurance Law‐ 4 geographically placed regional offices

Main obligations of Estonian Health Insurance Fund

• To public: - purchasing of high quality health care services - compensating temporary sick leave benefits - compensating prescribed medications

• Sustainability: - solvency of the Fund - sustainability of funding

Pre crisis time 2001- 2007(8)• Economical growth, specially after the joining

EU 2004, was from 6,7 to 10,3% per year• Collecting reserves in EHIF: - solvency reserve – 6% of total budget - risk reserve – 2% of budget of health by law

care benefits

- surplus – difference between

forecasted revenues and expenditures EHIF

initiative

EHIF revenues, expenditures and reserves

Decisions made coping the crisis – dental care and nursing care

• Before 2009 all insured persons aged 19 and over were entitled for dental care cash benefit of 19.18 eur, but from 2009 only retired persons retained this right

• 15% co-insurance rate for nursing inpatient care, 2010

Decisions made coping the crisis – temporary sick leave benefits

• Sharing responsibilities between patient and employer from July 2009:- No benefits paid for the first 3 days of sickness or injury (previously only one day)- Employer pays benefits from 4 to 8 days, from 9th pays EHIF (previously employer did not participate) - Reducing benefit rate from 80% to 70%

Decisions made coping the crisis – reducing tariffs

• 2009- Reducing all health services tariffs by 6%

• 2011- Raising health services tariffs by 1%

• 2012‐ Tariffs raised to pre-crisis level

• Key messages for EHIF- Reducing out of pocket payments

for medications- Strengthening primary health

care - Improving health technology

assessment- Monitoring outcome indicators- Stronger oversight of capital

investments in infrastructure and technology

- Paying attention to improving „value for money“

EHIF expenditures and OOP for prescribed medications 2007 - 2011

• Requested ATC based prescriptions since 2010

• Implementing electronic prescription with prescription centre 2010

• Requested offering of cheapest medication in pharmacies 2012

• Promotion campaignes for public• OOP has fallen 37,8% to 34,5% within

last 3 years for medications• Ceiling of compensation 50%

compensated prescribed medications will abolish since Oct 2012

• Total OOP has decreesed from 24 per cent 2006 to 19 per cent 2011

Stregthening primary care - better coordination of care for chronically ill patients

‐P4P payment ‐Financial support for recruiting second family nurse since Jan 2013‐Request to be referred by family physician to specialist for chronically ill patients since Oct 2012‐E-referrals, E-health IT system

Improving Health Technology Assessment

• Using pharmacoeconomical assessment of medications before including positive list since 2004

• Economic evaluation of health care services before added to the benefit package since 2003

• Developing health technology assessment unit in Tartu University within next 5 years. Supported by the EU structural funds

Monitoring outcome indicators

Case-mix index by hospitals

Proportion of caesarian sections from all deliveries in hospitals

European Health Consumer Index „value for money“

Lessons learned

• Assess your risks and be ready for crisis situations before the crisis

• Crisis time - introduce reasoned actions and try to avoid delays

• When you need to make cuts, try to retain balance of burden on providers and insured persons

• Retain sustainability of health system

Thank you for your attention!