Health Insurance Fund proposes cut to GP-issued sick leave from seven to five days
Zlatko Perinski said the Management Board will be asked to approve reduced GP sick-leave period and tighter controls after large August payouts.
The director of the Health Insurance Fund, Zlatko Perinski, announced on 14 September 2026 that the Fund will propose stricter controls on sick leave and a change to the sick-leave regulation to the Management Board, aiming to ensure payments reach those who truly need them and to prevent potential abuse.
Shorter GP-issued sick leave and wider checks
Among the main changes Perinski will submit is a reduction in the number of days a general practitioner can issue sick leave without further review — from the current seven days to five. He said the shorter initial period would be enough time to collect additional medical history or to extend leave if needed.
"We do not want to create a system that is harsher; we want to create a system that is fair," Perinski said.
Perinski said the Fund paid more than 623,000,000 denars in August for sick leave, of which 414,000,000 denars were for maternity leave; the remainder covered other types of sick leave. "For me and for the Fund’s staff these are not just budget items but obligations we must deliver to those in need," he added, while stressing the need for clear rules and control mechanisms when such sums are involved.
Controls will be carried out following employer reports and also at random. If an inspector does not find the insured person at home, a document will be left instructing the person to appear before a medical commission to provide an explanation; the employer will be notified of that instruction.
Perinski reported that recent checks found irregularities in about 30 percent of the sampled sick leaves taken within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, with fines imposed, and that an analysis of sick leave in the Ministry of Defence is nearing completion. He also said abuses are increasingly detected in the private sector.
"Again I will say, the topic of sick leave and maternity leave is always sensitive in public and our idea is not to prevent the rights to sick leave, but to stop abuse in using sick leave, because the Health Insurance Fund for 2026 within its budget has allocated 6,454,000,000 denars for sick leave and maternity leave. That is a significant sum and for that reason we must tighten the control system," Perinski said.
Perinski also reported progress on in vitro fertilization support: the measure allowing up to six IVF attempts is already producing results. From more than 1,880 attempts, 237 relate to fourth, fifth or sixth attempts. "At the moment we are analyzing a gradation of the financial package we provide for one attempt. Medical teams are working to determine a more individualized approach in issuing the voucher for assisted reproduction for the first, second or third attempt, all to increase the chance of a positive outcome in the early attempts. These are plans we intend to implement from 2027, but to be sure we will have the financial construction and medical support for this, we will need some more time to finalize it," he said.
As an additional patient relief, the Fund will propose changing the validity of prescriptions issued by on-call services: instead of being redeemable only until midnight the same day, the Fund will seek to extend the window to 24 hours.
Photo: press material from the event
