It doesn’t matter how much will the citizens of Kosovo and Albania – or any other foreigner – pay for health services in Macedonia, the point is how will the health system deal with the surge of patients, when Macedonian citizens, who pay for health insurance every month whether they use it or not, are waiting for months for a term to be examined, and then another several months for the results, asked the VMRO-DPMNE MP Igor Nikolov at Friday’s press conference.

Nikolov added that the health system is in a catastrophic situation, due to lack of any articulated strategy, and especially due to the extreme shortage of medical personnel.

“Not even two years after the alarm was raised, the problem with the shortage of 100 medical personnel in the Stip Regional Hospital has not been solved. The same number is urgently needed in the Bitola Regional Hospital. There is a shortage of 10 specialists at the Institute Of Radiology, where all diagnostic procedures are carried out, for treatments where it is crucial to start as soon as possible”, Nikolov said.

Therefore, Nikolov concluded, it remains unclear how much this latest measure to equalize the prices for all uninsured patients, regardless of the citizenship, will cost thee Macedonian citizens, and how will this affect the already bad situation.