Sep 30, 2025
The ongoing debate over the Ministry of Health’s proposed HTA methodological guideline perfectly illustrates why Slovakia needs a comprehensive vision, not just ad-hoc bureaucratic tweaks.
Today, the Future Slovakia Forum (FSF), through its expert platform Healthy Future of Slovakia (HFS), released its official position on these proposed changes—warning that they risk worsening access to treatment without improving fiscal stability.
Slovakia’s current reality is stark:
Extreme delays: Patients wait an average of 797 days for new medicines (vs. ~356 days CEE average), with only 27% of innovations available.
Failed implementation: The 2022 reform framework is functional, but practical access to innovation remains blocked by unprofessional processes.
The Financial Paradox: Medicines account for less than 20% of healthcare spending, yet overall costs keep rising due to system-wide inefficiencies and delayed prevention.
A Broader Vision: State Capacity Across the Board At the Future Slovakia Forum (FSF), we believe systemic problems are not solved by isolated political decisions. While our scope covers multiple focus areas crucial for state governance—including Education, Public Finance, and Decentralization—healthcare is currently our most advanced flagship initiative under the Healthy Future of Slovakia (HFS) banner. 🌍 Explore all FSF Focus Areas: https://www.future-slovakia.eu/sk
From Criticism to Systemic Solutions: Building REFORMA Reacting to flawed guidelines is necessary, but it isn't enough. That is why our core HFS Team of Experts is actively drafting REFORMA 3.3—a strategic, data-driven blueprint for the future of Slovak healthcare (2027–2035). We are calling for measurable goals by 2029 (time-to-access ≤ 530 days, availability ≥ 40%) driven by professionalization, modern HTA methods, multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA), and real-world evidence (RWE). ⚙️ Meet the Core HFS Expert Team building the blueprint: https://www.future-slovakia.eu/team-healthcare
Backed by the Best: The Independent Advisory Board To ensure our reform proposals meet the highest standards of evidence-based policymaking, we operate with a strict separation of drafting and validation. The strategic output of the core team is independently reviewed by our Advisory Board. Comprising top-tier experts like Prof. Róbert Babeľa, Dr. Vladimír Dvorový, Martin Vlachynský, and doc. Matej Mišík, the Board acts as the ultimate guarantor of quality, relevance, and independence for all our outputs. 🛡️ Meet the Advisory Board validating our work: https://healthy-future.sk/advisory-board/
“Every Slovak citizen may tomorrow need treatment that, under current rules, won’t be available. Pharmaceutical policy is not a technocratic exercise – it is an investment in healthier ageing, fiscal sustainability, and economic growth.”
Dive into the HTA policy discussion:
Read👇 the full position paper here :
Reaction👇 of NIHO to our position paper is here:
👇 Our (HFS) reaction to NIHO - incl. co-operation proposal - is here:
👇 Our reaction to MEDICINA.SK article of 6th October: "New drugs. The question is whether we can afford them and whether we need them all"- is here:
Expert group shaping Slovakia’s path to sustainable, patient-focused healthcare:
