Health financing and regulatory fees in the Czech Republic

The authors describe the method of payment for health care in the Czech Republic. Special attention is paid to the public health insurance system and its basic principles. The regulatory fees, which were introduced in the Czech Republic on 01/01/2008 are described in detail. Not only their economic function has been emphasized, but also other aspects of the reform, especially the protective limit, whose introduction ensures the availability of care for the chronically ill and socially disadvantaged patients. The authors follow the evolution of the price of all regulatory fees paid by all of the insured individuals of health insurance companies in the Czech Republic for the period 2008–2012 and the development of the amounts by which the protective limit was exceeded. A comparison of patients’ participation was carried out in selected European Union countries, where the system has been in place for many years, together with other protective mechanisms in order to provide health care for patients in need.