Healthcare financing in Croatia

Healthcare financing system is of crucial importance for the functioning of any healthcare system, especially because there is no country in the world that is able to provide all its residents with access to all the benefits afforded by modern medicine. Lack of resources in general and rising healthcare expenditures are considered a difficult issue to solve in Croatia as well. Since Croatia gained its independence, its healthcare system has undergone a number of reforms, the primary objective of which was to optimize healthcare services to the actual monetary capacity of the Croatian economy. The objectives of the mentioned re - forms were partially achieved. The solutions that have been offered until now, i.e. consolidation measures undertaken in the last 10 years were necessary; however, they have not improved the operating conditions. There is still the issue of the deficit from the previous years, i.e. outstanding payments, the largest in the last decade. Analysis of the performance of healthcare institutions in 2011 shows that the decision makers will have to take up a major challenge of finding a solution to the difficulties the Croatian healthcare system has been struggling with for decades, causing a debt of 7 billion kuna. At the same time, they will need to uphold the basic principles of the Healthcare Act, i.e. to provide access to healthcare and ensure its continuity, comprehensiveness and solidarity, keeping in mind that the National Budget Act and Fiscal Responsibility Act have been adopted