Imagine your health is in the hands of a system so deeply tangled in corruption that all forms of public healthcare theft are not only present but fully legalized! Ivana Kekin, chairwoman of the parliamentary health committee, spares no words when describing the disaster unfolding in Croatian healthcare under the rule of HDZ and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.
Corruption as the New Normal
Kekin warns that corruption in Croatian healthcare is so deeply rooted it has become normal. All models of corruption are normalized, and worst of all, the most expensive forms of healthcare theft are completely legal. This means taxpayer money flows into private pockets while patients suffer.
The Strategy to Destroy Public Healthcare
The HDZ government’s strategy is clear: do not purchase diagnostic and therapeutic equipment for public health institutions. Instead, they sign monopoly contracts with private providers, sending patients there at many times higher costs. Kekin cites the example of the private oncology hospital Medikol, which since 2010 has received a staggering 1.3 billion kuna of taxpayers’ money for PET/CT scans, while public healthcare could have bought five such machines for just 60 million kuna.
Private Clinics on the Public’s Dime
In the last decade, the only strategic healthcare project under Plenković’s rule has been the private oncology hospital Medikol. The HDZ presidential candidate, who lost the election, received a consolation prize – the opening of yet another private polyclinic, where Croatian patients will reportedly be sent. Kekin highlights the supreme cynicism of the rulers who claim private clinics are a salvation for oncology patients, while in reality, they have brought Croatian oncology to its knees.
Corruption in Every Clinic
Kekin warns corruption exists in every Croatian clinic. Doctors, already paid, give lectures paid for by pharmaceutical companies instead of focusing on treating patients. This absurd system, where bribery and corruption permeate every segment, must be stopped.
What’s the Solution?
The first line of defense must be stopping the billions from leaking out of public healthcare into private pockets connected to HDZ. Healthcare cannot be fixed by sending patients to private polyclinics that do not solve waiting lists. Public healthcare bosses send patients to their own private clinics – the height of hypocrisy and corruption.
If you think this is just another corruption story, think about how much of your health and money is at stake. And hey, if you have a good healthcare joke or have already lost faith in the system, share it – maybe at least that will make us laugh while we wait for change!
