Ombudswoman Tena Simonovic-Einwalter has applied for a constitutional review of the amendment to the Mandatory Health Insurance Act, under which some people are required to report personally to the Croatian Health Insurance Institute every three months so as not to forfeit their health insurance.

“Assuming that the purpose of these amendments was to ascertain the number of insurance policy holders and prevent abuse, this could be done in a different way. Personal visits every couple of months should not be the only way of verifying people’s living circumstances in the 21st century. When this obligation was introduced, it was forgotten that movement for some people is impossible or difficult,” the ombudswoman said in a statement on Monday.

Noting that the law does not provide for exceptions, she said that all legal arrangements should be well thought out and clearly explained in advance. She added that the Ministry of Health could have sought a solution in collecting data from various authorities and increasing their cooperation instead of requiring periodic personal visits to the HZZO (Croatian Health Insurance Institute).

The ombudswoman said it was possible to increase cooperation between the HZZO and inspection authorities, connect to the records of the Tax Authority regarding tax residence and the Ministry of the Interior to check the status of Croatian nationals residing and working abroad without having cancelled their residence in Croatia.