Freshmen are encouraged to critically evaluate the calls of representatives of medical institutions to transfer to new medical institutions

As the new academic year approaches, the Vilnius Territorial Hospital Fund (Vilnius TLK) together with the Lithuanian Students' Union (LSS) urges students to be vigilant and critically evaluate representatives of some private medical institutions who wander into educational institutions, who provide misleading information and urge them to re-register for treatment at new medical institutions .

According to LSS president Paulius Baltok, students become the target of clinics every year. There are cases when representatives of clinics rush to lectures to present their institution, claiming that it is necessary to register with a new medical institution. However, this is not true. Students have the right to choose where they want to go in case of illness.

According to the students, representatives of private medical institutions often come to educational institutions and during lectures offer young people various gifts and discounts for signing up in their institutions, and provide misleading information about services paid for by territorial sick funds from the budget of the Mandatory Health Insurance Fund.

For example, it is explained that a student enrolled in a new medical institution will supposedly have "double health insurance", i.e. both in the new medical institution and where he received treatment while living at his permanent place of residence, he will be provided not only with the necessary medical assistance, but also all personal health care services. Or - that only those who have signed up at the new medical facility will be issued free medical certificates.

Vytautas Mockus, director of the Vilnius ITC, notes that the health insurance fund pays the treatment institutions for the persons who sign up, so the more the institutions have, the more funding they receive. Well, students are young people, they rarely get sick, they visit medical institutions less often, they need to be prescribed compensatory drugs less often, so the institutions have less work and expenses due to these subscribers.

"Each young person should decide for himself whether he needs to change the treatment facility where he can receive the necessary treatment services. If the student nevertheless decided to enroll in a new medical institution, he should take his time and choose the medical institution where he really wants to enroll," emphasizes V. Mockus.

Vilnius ILC reminds that full-time students are covered by state funds, therefore medical services are provided free of charge in case of illness in those medical institutions that have signed agreements with territorial health insurance funds for the provision of specific services. The costs of these services are reimbursed from the budget of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund.

The procedure for enrolling residents in a medical institution is regulated by the order of the Minister of Health, according to which a student, like every person, can freely choose the primary personal health care institution and a specific doctor that is closest to his place of residence or that is more convenient for him.

This order stipulates that full-time students who have come from another city or young people who have returned to their permanent place of residence after graduation must pay only a symbolic fee of LTL 1 for the processing of documents and the forwarding of medical documents to the newly chosen institution. Therefore, if students are asked to pay a regular fee of 10 litas, it is illegal and they should not have to pay it.

Vilnius TLK urges students to be more careful, to find out what guarantees are provided by the mandatory health insurance, and not to believe in unreasonable promises.

If students have questions or doubt the answers received from medical institutions, call the territorial health fund at the following numbers: 8 700 88888, (8 5) 212 0000, write an e-mail by mail info@vlk.lt or look for more information on the website www.vilniaustlk.lt