In a bid to promote physical activities among children and alleviate the financial burden on parents, the Všeobecná zdravotní pojišťovna (General Health Insurance Company, VZP) in the Czech Republic has announced a significant increase in its contribution towards children’s ski training. Starting next year, the contribution will rise to two thousand crowns, marking a doubling of the previous amount allocated for children’s physical activities.

The augmented funding is designed to incentivize more children to participate in skiing lessons, fostering a healthier and more active lifestyle. To avail themselves of this financial support, parents will be required to provide evidence of their child’s participation in the ski training.

A specially designed form, titled “Confirmation of the Child’s Participation in the Organized Ski Course,” will serve as the validation of the child’s involvement. VZP emphasizes that this form, downloadable from the health insurance company’s website starting January, will be the exclusive document accepted for confirmation. Unlike other contributions, there is no need to submit additional proof of payment with the application.

Parents can obtain the form, have it validated by the school post the child’s ski training, and subsequently submit it along with their contribution application to VZP. The confirmation document must not be older than three months from its issuance date at the time of application.

VZP facilitates various application submission channels, including online through the My VZP application, in-person at counters or branch offices, depositing it in designated collection boxes or mailboxes, and by traditional mail to the VZP CR address.

While Všeobecná zdravotní pojišťovna leads the initiative, it is noteworthy that other entities, such as the Ministry of Health Insurance and Czech Industrial Health Insurance, have also made contributions towards children’s skiing courses, contributing 1500 and a hundred crowns respectively this year. These collective efforts underscore a commitment to fostering a healthier and more active younger generation in the Czech Republic.

Article by Prague Forum