**1. Introduction**

Slovenia is usually counted among the countries whose health care financing system is Bismarckian. However, the Slovenian health care financing system is »biseridging« and getting more and more mixed. Most of the elements that are typical for a pure Bismarckian system, namely association of rights with labor status and no government interference, are not present anymore and lots of innovative elements entered the health care insurance space in the last decades.

Relatively, the Slovenian health care system ranks well across many indicators. Life expectancy has increased in the last two decades and is equal to the EU average of 80.6 years. Health spending is lower than the EU average (US\$ PPP 2283 in 2019), and from the viewpoint of the benefits package, the accessibility to health services is almost universal. Due to its complementary health insurance and universal coverage, the financial protection is high-the out-of-pocket expenditures are one of the

lowest in the EU, catastrophic spending is low, and unmet needs due to costs are low. The mounting problem is long waiting lists for specialist care and lack of health care personnel, especially in primary care [1].

In the following subchapter, we will describe the basic features of the health insurance system in Slovenia but will mostly focus on the concept of complementary health insurance and its role in the Slovenian health care system. On one hand, the institution of complementary health insurance brought Slovenia in front of the Court of Justice in Luxembourg; on the other hand, it played a crucial role in the economic protection of Slovenian citizens through the economic crisis between the years 2008 and 2013. Saying that it is necessary to point out that many adjustments have been introduced to complementary health insurance to ensure equal conditions for inclusion into the scheme for all citizens regardless of their age and gender and to ensure equal accessibility to complementary health insurance for all citizens is guaranteed without risk selection. In spite of all the adjustments, the nature of complementary health insurance is still ambiguous-it is declared voluntary but is in fact compulsory. Furthermore, it is run by private insurance companies while its package of services is completely dependent on the definition of services covered by compulsory health insurance does put the private providers into a subordinate position.
