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Autori: Michal Bečka, Anton Lisník

In: Zdravotnícke štúdie

ISSN: 1337-723X

Ročník: XVII

Číslo: 1

Strany: 3-13

Rok vydania: 2025

Vydavateľ: VERBUM – vydavateľstvo Katolíckej univerzity v Ružomberku

Abstract: 

Objective: The main objective of the scientific paper was to present a consistent overview of inpatient healthcare financing in the Slovak Republic for the analyzed period from 2014 to 2023. The specific objectives were to identify and analyze the number of hospitals and hospital beds by region in the context of the population, to identify and analyze the number of hospitalizations per 1,000 inhabitants and the average length of patient care, to identify and analyze the number of insured and uninsured inhabitants, to identify and analyze the annual revenue of public health insurance, to identify and analyze payments for inpatient and overall healthcare, to identify and analyze per capita healthcare payments, to identify and analyze the share of GDP in healthcare expenditures, and to compare inpatient healthcare expenditures per capita and the share of GDP in these expenditures in the Slovak Republic and the European Union.
Methodology: To achieve the set research objective, we applied mutually complementary scientific methods: abstraction – concretization, analysis – synthesis, induction – deduction, and comparison. We employed the following quantitative research techniques – data analysis and comparative  analysis. The object of the study was the financing of healthcare in hospitals in the Slovak Republic, and the subject of the study was the data from the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic, Eurostat, and the annual reports of health insurance companies.
Results: Analysis of data from 2014 to 2023 shows that the number of hospitals in Slovakia increased from 117 in 2014 to 127 in 2023, leading to an increase in the number of hospitals per 100,000 inhabitants. The number of hospital beds decreased in 2020-2021 to 486.3 beds per 100,000 inhabitants, but in 2023 it increased to 497.9 beds per 100,000 inhabitants. During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitalizations decreased, with 179.22 hospitalizations per 1,000 inhabitants recorded in 2020 and 173.40 hospitalizations per 1,000 inhabitants in 2021. In 2023, the number of hospitalizations increased to 189.99 hospitalizations per 1,000 inhabitants, returning to pre-pandemic levels. This increase in hospitalizations also led to a rise in the average number of hospitalizations per capita. The average length of patient care was 6.25 days (150 hours). Furthermore, the research results show an increasing trend in total revenues from public health insurance, which reached 7.19 billion EUR in 2023. The largest share of these revenues came from employer contributions (45.9%, which is 3.30 billion EUR) and revenues from the state budget (28.8%, 2.07 billion EUR). Payments for hospital health care in 2023 reached a maximum value of 2.76 billion EUR, with the share of these payments in total health care payments amounting to 40.47% (from 6.82 billion EUR). Per capita, these payments in 2023 amounted to 507.65 EUR. The share of GDP in payments for hospital health care in 2023 reached 2.47% of GDP, which is the highest recorded share for the entire analyzed period. Total expenditure on hospital health care per capita in 2023 amounted to 3.25 billion EUR, which represents 600.17 EUR per capita. These expenditures account for 42.84% of total expenditure on hospital health care per capita within the European Union. In the comparison of health insurers, it is clear that the Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa (VšZP) has the highest share of insured persons and bears the largest financial burden not only for hospital health care but also for overall health care in the Slovak Republic. This trend is consistent with its dominant position in the market. It is therefore clear that the legally defined allocation of public health insurance funds for health care is directly dependent on the number of insured persons in each insurance company, with a higher number of insured persons leading to higher premium revenues.
Conclusion: Based on the research results, we can conclude that the public healthcare system of the Slovak Republic shows an increase in the number of hospitals, hospital beds, hospitalizations, as well as revenues, reimbursements, and expenditures for inpatient healthcare. It appears that optimizing the network of hospitals will be essential, and in addition, measures will need to be implemented to improve the efficiency of public spending in order to ensure equal access to quality healthcare for all residents. The growing percentage of healthcare expenditures relative to GDP presents a challenge for the sustainability of the healthcare system, highlighting the need for effective measures.

Keywords:  Healthcare financing. Hospitals. Inpatient healthcare. Public health insurance. Public health insurance revenues. Reimbursements  and expenditures of inpatient healthcare.

Citácia:

BEČKA, Michal a LISNÍK, Anton, 2025. Financovanie lôžkovej zdravotnej starostlivosti v nemocniciach v Slovenskej republike za obdobie 2014 – 2023. In: Zdravotnícke štúdie. Online. Ružomberok: VERBUM – vydavateľstvo Katolíckej univerzity v Ružomberku, roč. XVII, č. 1, s. 3-13. ISSN 1337-723X. Dostupné na: