A patient with Covid-19 in Albania spent 1 thousand dollars, the government gave only 40

In Tirana, the organization "Together for Life" published today two monitoring reports on the health budget during the Covid-19 Pandemic, prepared with the support of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy in Albania.

In these studies it is noted that patients with Covid-19, who were treated at home during the 15 months of the pandemic, faced high costs for medications from their own funds, spending at least 1 thousand dollars per person.

Experts noted that the government reimbursement package for the expenditures allocated only about $ 40 per person.

In the monitoring of the organization "Together for Life" and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy in Albania, for the reimbursement of Covid-19 medications for the 9-month period September 2020-May 2021, it is stated that the government reimbursement package for COVID citizens did not affect the sick.

They spent from the family wallet about 1 thousand dollars each, but the reimbursement was only 40 dollars for only 1 thousand 708 people.

"The report notes that according to official statements, at least 4.7% of the population was infected with Covid-19 by May this year, while the population that received a reimbursement for treatment costs from Covid-19 is 0.25%. "Experts point out that the costs of treating the disease were 10 to 20 times higher than the funds received from the reimbursement" - says Denisa Canameti, expert of the organization "Together for Life".

In a second report on health budget monitoring in the last 9 months, the authors emphasize that the Pandemic is not exerting high pressure for additional funds in the budget,

But they note that spending in the health sector in the last two years has grown at lower rates than overall budget spending.

This year's state budget projected a slight decline (0.2%) in total spending on financing the health sector.

Last year, the health sector accounted for only 7.4 percent of total budget expenditures, with a slight decline from 2018, although the pandemic marked two severe waves of infections in August and November.

"Experience has shown that it is not the hospitals but the prevention of the spread of the coronavirus that is the main tool in tackling the pandemic. So the funds given for vaccines are funds for disease prevention. Initially there were no protocols. People concerned about health were pushed to take their own medications. The Ministry of Health has made some protocols, and the ministry funds those protocols based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization and cannot be held responsible if more medications came.

They are not all used properly. "People have inadvertently used drugs outside the rules, which are also bad for them" - says the Deputy Minister of Health, Mira Rakacolli, at the same time the head of the Technical Committee against the Pandemic.

Analysts note that funds for health have been declining in the last two years in relation to the total state budget.

Expenditures for dealing with the pandemic in terms of health are expected to be 12.6% of the total budget of the health sector for the two years 2020 and 2021.

The budget monitoring report notes that of the funds for the health crisis last year a large 38 per cent went to protective equipment for medical staff and very little to improve services to patients. VOA