Parents of a child treated in hospital will be entitled to sick leave in the duration of their child’s hospital treatment as of next year, which has not been the case before, the Health Insurance Fund of Republika Srpska told Srna.
The Health Insurance Fund has simplified the procedure for approving such sick leave, which will no longer include decision making by a committee, only a discharge letter for the insured person whose child is in hospital.
“A parent or a guardian of the child staying in hospital at the recommendation of the physician who sent the child to hospital will be entitled to sick leave, in accordance with valid regulations. The Fund has provided for this novelty by amending the Rulebook on the right to compensation during temporary inability to work, which will be applied as of January 1,” says the Fund.
The Fund sources note that the right will be granted to the insured person whose child was approved hospital treatment in Republika Srpska and abroad.
“Apart from this sick leave, parents will also be entitled to temporary work inability to care for a member of their nuclear family for 15 days in case of a child under 15, seven days for an older family member, as well as four months if a child under 18 is gravely ill,” says the Fund.
The amended rulebook stipulates that sick leave can be initiated or extended only on the basis of a medical examination of the insured person and medical results about their health condition.
“When it comes to the first-instance committee, sick leave may be extended in the absence of the insured person only if the insured person is gravely ill, immovable, hardly movable, etc., the exception being the insured persons treated in hospital. Unlike previously, the rulebook stipulates that the doctor’s certificate of illness be issued by the fifth day of the month for the previous month,” said the Fund.
With amendments to the rulebook, the Fund continues to expand the rights of insured persons and simplifies the procedures in order to allow for achieving everything that is guaranteed in the set of rights included in obligatory health insurance.
This is how the Fund tries to improve the control of sick leaves and prevent potential abuse.
Control and management of all costs is a Fund’s commitment which has achieved results, primarily when it comes to the stabilisation of business activities and reduction of overall obligations, without minimising the rights of insured persons.
“That’s what we will do in the future and we once again call on our business partners, especially employers to work together on improving this area so that there is as little room for potential abuse in health care and health insurance rights as possible,” said the Fund.
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Source: srna
