Kosta Cholakov, Management Board Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DZI
Kosta Cholakov has been Chairman of the Board and CEO of DZI since 2013. He started his career at Interamerican Insurance Company. In 1999, he became Manager of Claims Management at Interamerican Bulgaria, and from 2001 to 2013 he was CEO of Interamerican Bulgaria - Insurance Company and Interamerican Bulgaria - Life Insurance Company. Kosta Cholakov holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, and a Master of Laws degree from Queen Mary & Westfield College, University of London.
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Health was highlighted as a priority in the regular government's agreement. Do you expect actions that will change the healthcare model?
Unfortunately, I do not expect serious action that would change the model, but it is clear to all of us that there is such a need. Serious changes to the system always come at a high political price, and over the years we have seen that no one is prepared to take it on. However, if there were such a will, I would focus on changing the funding model. At the moment, there is a huge imbalance: on the one hand, there is the monopoly Health Insurance Fund, and on the other hand, there are competing private, state and municipal players providing health services.
Clearly there is a need to expand the scope of health insurance? Do we need regulatory changes? What would you suggest?
We definitely need legislative changes. My opinion is that a more serious role should be given to private entities at the expense of the monopoly of the Health Insurance Fund. It should clearly define the package that it covers and will cover, and then for everything else introduce it as a second pillar of health insurance (along the lines of the pension model). This would remove the current duplication of health packages provided by NHIF and licensed health insurers in voluntary health insurance. Market competition and better control will lead to a better and quality service, in the interest of citizens and patients. Unfortunately, such a reform requires political will and implies a serious public debate and consensus building among the main stakeholders, but this is the only way to avoid the concern of political risk and to highlight the benefits for society.
What are the benefits of health insurance and what would you advise employers to do for their staff?
One of the biggest advantages is not having to go through the system and wait for referrals. We provide fast, quality access because we select the medical facilities we work with and strive to work toward continuous improvement in the quality of care they offer. The other main advantage is that we settle directly with them and the client does not need to do anything. The process is quite digitalized and when choosing a trusted medical facility, there is no need to collect documents and go through cumbersome bureaucratic processes. Last but not least, most of our packages include preventive check-ups, which are done annually and enable prevention, which is key to avoiding serious diseases. Because of this and a number of other benefits, I advise employers to make it mandatory to include health insurance in their benefits packages. Our research shows that it is the most sought-after and expected benefit by employees.
What differentiates the package of health services offered by DZI for its corporate clients?
Our main advantages are related to our digital health app "KakSi" (www.dzi.bg/kaksi). Through it, customers can book an appointment for a check-up entirely online. It gives them access to telemedicine, a digital health card with transparent information about their insurance limits, a health record and access to a partner network with attractive discounts. Using our app, our customers can earn "pearls" as a result of their physical activity and healthy lifestyle, and this brings them additional bonuses and rewards. Another advantage we have is that over the last two years we have created a very good process to control the quality of the service offered by the healthcare facilities through a segmentation system. Through this, we also provide a concierge service in some of our partners, which greatly improves the customer experience. I recommend your readers to download "KakSi" and see how a modern digital product works in the field of health insurance.
What are the main objectives that the company has in the field of health insurance?
We work to improve the customer experience every day. This is our top priority. We are constantly evolving our digital channels, introducing innovations and processes to make it as easy as possible to access the service you want and reduce the stress of dealing with healthcare, illness and treatment. Every day we seek feedback from our customers and on this basis, we develop and add to our services to meet their requirements. We improve coordination with our providers and the speed and quality of our internal processes. Of course, we also have the advantage of being part of a large, international banking and insurance group, which allows us easier access to know-how, technology, innovation, products and the opportunity to share experience and knowledge for the benefit of our customers.
What is your opinion about the health culture in our country and what would you suggest to increase interest in health insurance?
This interest can only be improved through a more serious public-private partnership and a public debate in which we all in this system come to a consensus on how to make it better for customers.
