Press release: The Health Insurance Fund identified irregularities in sick leave among Ministry of Interior employees

The Health Insurance Fund (HIF), at the request of the Ministry of Interior, carried out a detailed inspection of sick leave among Ministry of Interior employees. The inspection was conducted in the second half of 2025.

The inspections covered 80 insured persons, for whom a total of 514 sick leaves had been recorded.

Of the total number of sick leaves:

• 258 lasted up to 7 days, 
• 171 lasted up to 15 days, 
• 83 had a duration of 30 or more days. 

The most frequently used diagnoses when issuing sick leave were:

• diseases of the respiratory system (82 cases), 
• diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (69 cases), 
• diseases of the digestive system (45 cases). 

The inspection identified irregularities in 29 of the 80 persons inspected, representing around 37 per cent of the cases covered.

These 29 persons used a total of 236 sick leaves, of which 100 were assessed as having been issued irregularly, while 136 were regular. This means that irregularities were identified in 100 of a total of 514 sick leaves, or in around 19,5 per cent of the total number of sick leaves inspected.

As part of the procedure, the following were also inspected:

• 105 private health institutions, mainly general medicine practices (98), as well as gynaecology and obstetrics practices (4) and dentistry practices (3). Irregularities were found in 29 health institutions, of which 27 were general medicine and 2 gynaecology; 
• public health institutions, where irregularities were identified among 3 specialists; 
• first-instance and second-instance medical commissions (FIMC/SIMC), where irregularities were identified in 2 commissions. 

The most frequent irregularities identified are:

• failure to carry out the mandatory diagnostic procedures in accordance with the Criteria from the Rulebook on Assessment of Temporary Incapacity for Work; 
• exceeding the prescribed time frames. 

For all identified irregularities, proceedings are under way for the imposition of fines in a total amount of 1,2 million denars.

This activity of the Fund is part of intensified controls over sick leave in the public sector, where in recent years significant suspicions of abuses of the temporary incapacity for work system have been registered.

The Health Insurance Fund remains firmly committed to consistent application of the regulations, improvement of the control system and protection of the funds from compulsory health insurance.