Talking about Latvian health care system one should bear in mind the fact that Latvia is a former Soviet country, which sharply changed the course of its development after gaining its independence in 1991. Certainly the changes that took place over the last two decades affected the national health care system. However, this period of time appeared to be insufficient for Latvia to match the health care standards of the fellow European States. Thus, the health care system in Latvia lags behind the other EU member countries and is still in maturing process.
In 2011 the National Health Service – the administrative institution subordinate to the Ministry of Health was established. Its aim is to plan, administrate and control State budgetary funds prescribed for health care. In Latvia public health sector is funded by the State Compulsory Health Insurance Agency, which in its turn is supplied with financial aid through taxes. People employed in Latvia make mandatory contributions to the Latvian social security scheme, which allows them to use public health services.
According to the point 17 of the law on Medical Treatment the health care services financed by the state may be received by the following people more
People not mentioned in the before listed categories are charged for the medical service in accordance with the pricelist of the medical institution respectively to received medical treatment. Furthermore, the foreigners who apply for a visa and a temporary residence permit have to possess a valid health insurance plan.The level of state medical treatment in Latvia is not very high, and some of the foreigners may refer to medical facilities and equipment as to inadequate. However, there are numerous privately run health facilities in Latvia that provide with the higher standards of medical treatment.
