This is a huge burden for the underfinanced Czech health service. Some underpaid Czech doctors are said to have fallen prey to substantial bribes by Western pharmaceutical companies. Private doctors do not have permanent contracts with the insurance companies, so they are in a very insecure position. There is practically no medical prophylaxis. For instance, the population is no longer screened for tuberculosis, although the number of TB cases is rising.
Outpatient treatment is starved of cash.
Most doctors are desperately underpaid and their private practices often struggle. The current social democratic Health Secretary Ivan David has recently got into a number of high profile controversies involving possible corruption in hospitals and other institutions. In spite of the fact that David seems to be a thoughtful and rational politician, he seems to have alienated the media, who have been baying for his resignation. Without independent evidence it is hard to say who is right - the beleaguered Health Secretary, or his various underlings whom he accuses of inefficiency or worse, and who accuse him of things in return. That is the view of the media.