The lower the mortality rate and the higher the life expectancy, the stronger the performance of the economy. A healthier population in the European Union countries could also increase its competitiveness. This was the consensus of speakers at the Eurodebate of Zdravotnický deník entitled The future of Europe – an agenda for the new European Parliament and European Commission.
Improving health is closely linked to economic productivity. Richard Sulík, a member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic (NC SR) who is running for the European Parliament on behalf of the opposition party Sloboda a Solidarita (SaS), pointed this out in the Eurodebate. „Retrospective studies suggest that in countries with advanced economies, the reduction in mortality and the increase in life expectancy have been responsible for between 29 percent and 38 percent of the growth in gross domestic product,“ said the SaS candidate for the European Parliament.
A healthy population is also key, according to Roman Karlubík, first vice-president of the Association of Employers‘ Unions and Associations of the Slovak Republic (AZZZ) and president of the Association of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry of the Slovak Republic. As he said, the relief of the healthcare system and its treatment costs depend on it, and at the same time, from the employers‘ point of view, it represents an efficient workforce. „In fact, healthy individuals tend to be more productive and absenteeism from work due to illness is lower, which has a positive impact on the economic performance of businesses,“ Karlubík told in the Eurodebate.
According to him, healthy workers are also a prerequisite for the development of innovation, contributing to the creation of new ideas and solutions, which can ultimately strengthen the competitiveness of enterprises and the national economy. „In view of this, it is important to pay attention to policies and measures that support the improvement of the health status of the population,“ added the first vice-president of AZZZ.
According to the managing director of Prvá Energetická, Andrej Lednár, employees are one of the most expensive expenses in companies and therefore their health and well-being are very important. „Prevention is often mentioned, which should be the most important tool of the health system, but in practice we see that changes come only slowly. I positively perceive companies that provide above-standard healthcare as a benefit for their employees,“ Lednár explained. In this way, according to him, companies partly substitute the shortcomings of the state health system, but in return they get higher productivity and lower absence.
Miroslav Homola
Photo: Tomáš Bokor
