"It's a little funny, as this practice does not exist anywhere in the world. It is absolutely a regress back to the Soviet times," the president told journalists in comment on proposals to outlaw the scheme whereby private medical centers are entitled to public health insurance funds.
Grybauskaitė said she did not want to comment on the amendments proposed by Health Minister Vytenis Andriukaitis, stating that "the quality of the amendment was shown by its rejection in parliament."
Last week, Lithuanian lawmakers voted down the amendment to the Law on Health Insurance, which envisaged additional terms and conditions for contracts between the health insurance fund and health care institutions.
Opposition parliamentarians said the amendments, proposed by the minister himself, were targeted against private medical institutions.
The proposed changes drew no support in the ruling coalition either – it secured unanimous votes of only the ruling Social Democrats and the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania.
