Czechs Promised Up to 1,500 Crowns for Health Check-ups as Insurance Reform Takes Shape

The Czech Ministry of Health is preparing a sweeping reform of the health insurance system that will have a direct impact on patients' wallets. According to Health Minister Vlastimil Válek, citizens who undergo preventive check-ups and paid screening programmes will receive between 500 and 1,500 crowns paid directly into their bank account — with the exact amount to be set by their insurance company.

If a patient completes all the required preventive examinations within a year, the money is meant to land straight in their bank account rather than as bonus points from the insurer, which could otherwise be manipulated. The payout is planned to be made annually, provided the conditions are met.

Why the reform is needed

According to the ministry, next year's public health insurance law will, for the first time, distribute more than 600 billion crowns among participants in the system. Válek admitted that the current distribution model is far from perfect and doesn't always encourage improvements in the quality and accessibility of healthcare.

The centrepiece of the reform is a rethink of the so-called reconciliation process — the key mechanism determining how funds are allocated among hospitals and other players in the system for the following year. Currently, negotiations take place over just a few weeks each spring, which the minister considers an inefficient way to manage financing for the entire healthcare sector.

"We want to create a completely new, year-round reconciliation process," Válek said. It should take a more detailed approach to the network of medical facilities and the structure of care provision. Multi-year agreements with hospitals are also being considered, giving healthcare institutions time to adapt — for instance, to the growing need for long-term care beds as the population ages.

The reform will expand insurance companies' powers to manage the system, but at the same time will demand greater accountability from them for how they spend mandatory health insurance funds, the minister stressed.

Timeline and higher payments for state-insured individuals

According to Jan Zapletal, director of the ministry's economics and health insurance section, the bill is expected to go before the government in April next year. The entire legislative process should be completed by 2027, with the changes potentially taking effect from 2028.

Back in the summer, Válek told the Chamber of Deputies about the need for major parametric changes in healthcare. At the time, officials also discussed a measure to stabilise sector financing — an extraordinary increase in state payments for so-called state-insured persons, a category that includes pensioners and students.

In 2026, the state's monthly payment per such person stands at 2,188 crowns. Under the government's current draft amendment to the law, this figure will jump to 2,479 crowns a month next year — 291 crowns more than now. Overall, this translates into an increase in state spending of roughly 18 billion crowns a year.

Source: novinky.cz

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