Zóny pre každého študenta

Fatal illnesses

Fatal illnesses
We also call them incurable diseases because we still aren´t able to cure them. There belong: Cancer  and AIDS that are the last world threats.
AIDS was first identified in the USA in  1981 at homosexuals and drug abusers. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nowadays there are more than 10  million people infected. It is caused by a virus which was named HIV-1. The virus damages the immune system of the human body by infecting white blood cells. It is transmitted by blood. Normal everyday contact with an infected person is safe, it means you cannot catch the virus by touching objects used by infected person or shaking hands. The cure vaccine for AIDS has not been discovered yet, although many countries of the world spend a lot of money trying to find a cure. Prevention stands in the centre of attention and it is better than a cure. 

Public and private health care
Health insurance covers almost all types and amount of health care costs (everything is specified in writing, contracts or in a national health policy for public insurance). Currently, most doctors are private practitioners, especially dentists, dermatologist, oculist and many others.  They operate out of rented offices in public facilities funded by the doctors themselves and by additional voluntary private insurance contributions. Private health is only used by a limited percentage of people, often as a top up to the basic state healthcare and to cover them for the services deemed non-essential. Slovakia provides good quality health care. Every village has a health centre and there is at least one hospital in every city and several health centres. Highly specialized hospitals are situated e.g. in Bratislava, Martin, Banska Bystrica and Košice. Emergency operates in every hospital open from afternoon till morning and at weekends 24 hours. Emergency medical service is operational 24 hours 7 days a week.

Health care in Slovakia is financed by health insurance. Health insurance in Slovakia is obligatory and shall be paid by every citizen of Slovakia. The insurance fee is deducted from the wages. Medical insurance for children, the disabled and women on maternity leave is paid by the state. Some medical treatments such as plastic surgery or sterilization are paid by patients themselves. Medical treatments for administrative purposes are also paid by the patients. Price lists can be found in every health centre. Dental treatment in Slovakia is usually not fully covered by health insurance and many dentists in Slovakia do not have contracts with health insurance companies. In this case, patient covers the full treatment himself. Operations and hospital treatments in Slovakia are also covered from the health insurance. Most medications are partially covered by the insurance; some medications are even fully covered while others are only available full payment. Antibiotics and many other pills are only available on doctoral prescription. Medications are sold in pharmacies. There is a pharmacy in almost every village and several pharmacies in every town or city in Slovakia. The pharmacies in Slovakia have good stock of medications and drugs. There is a pharmacy on duty in every city. The name and address of the pharmacy on duty can be found on the door of every pharmacy.

There are five health insurance companies responsible for the collection of the health insurance contributions and for reimbursements. The General Health Insurance Company covers the majority of the population. The Common Health Insurance Company is the second largest and both are guaranteed by the state. Citizens are able to change insurance company at any time, but there is little competition between the insurance companies, although more recently insurance companies have attempted to attract people to their funds. There appear to be no identifiable benefits for the public in having such a choice of companies. The money collected by each insurer is paid to the state run General Health Insurance Company for rationalization.
Health insurance is mandatory for all income-earners. The government pays contributions for those citizens who are exempt for contributing like the unemployed, old age pensioners and people on long-term sickness benefit, maternity leave, job seekers, those on disability benefits and reservists. Employers must register their employees with one of the health insurance funds when a new employee starts work.

Health insurance premiums can be expensive, especially if you have to purchase them on your own. However, in the end, having health insurance is most often less expensive than remaining uninsured. If you do not have health insurance, you will have to pay for all of your health care costs out of pocket. When you have insurance, though your premiums may seem expensive, they don't compare to the full cost of major medical procedures.

Medical bills can leave you in debt and may lead to difficulty paying your other bills. Medical coverage for one accident, emergency, or surgery - especially if it involves specialist or follow-up visits - can cause the insurance coverage to pay for itself. The money you save in medical bills is often well worth the up-front costs of the insurance policy. The biggest health insurance providers in Slovakia: Dôvera, VŠP, Union
Zones.sk – Najväčší študentský portál
https://www.zones.sk/studentske-prace/anglictina/7012-fatal-illnesses/