Impact of Electricity Price Hike on Healthcare
The committee’s chairman, Admir Čavalić (SBiH), explained that representatives from the energy and healthcare sectors attended the session to address the implications of the planned electricity price hike set to take effect on January 1.
“Here’s what it means—despite citizens regularly paying health insurance contributions, a portion of those contributions will now go toward covering higher electricity bills. We are working to resolve this by the end of the year, possibly through amendments to the Electricity Law, adjustments to decisions by the Federation Energy Regulatory Commission (FERK), or by having the two power utilities create a new tariff model to support public healthcare institutions,” Čavalić stated.
He emphasized that applying market-based electricity prices to a social sector like healthcare raises significant concerns.
“We are looking for ways to classify health institutions as consumers of special importance. Cold chains, vaccine storage, and similar operations could be jeopardized next year, especially since some healthcare institutions—particularly those at the cantonal level—might struggle to cover these costs,” he added.
Čavalić revealed that the expected increase in electricity costs for healthcare institutions would be around 20%.
Wage Increase and Regulatory Challenges
Čavalić also addressed the Federation government’s efforts to increase workers’ wages via a new regulation.
“When it comes to this regulation, the government has abandoned amending the Income Tax Law. There are several issues with the proposed regulation, and we can’t delve into its merits because it’s unclear whether it exists, has been adopted, or if anyone has seen the actual document. We have an unofficial, unsigned document, and we know it hasn’t been passed. The problematic part is that the document is reportedly ‘confidential,’ as stated by the prime minister (Nermin Nikšić), who claims it’s being ‘hidden from the public.’ With the year-end approaching, employers need to plan their budgets, making this a significant issue,” Čavalić noted.
He added that while it seems certain that the minimum wage will increase from 619 KM to 700 KM, other related measures remain ambiguous and unresolved.