Vedrana Rudan loses court fight over diagnostic funding for cancer treatment in Croatia

Writer and journalist Vedrana Rudan, 76, was diagnosed in April 2024 with a rare cholangiocarcinoma of the liver. The Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO) reimbursed 8,814 EUR for stereotactic radiotherapy at the private clinic Radiochirurgija, but refused to cover roughly 3,000 EUR for an Ultra‑HD PET/CT scan with MRI fusion that is required to plan the treatment and is only offered by that private provider.

The case shows a legal and organisational gap: HZZO contracts with Radiochirurgija for the therapeutic procedure but not for the essential diagnostic test. Dr. Stipislav Jadrijević of University Hospital Merkur both referred Rudan to Radiochirurgija and serves as a consultant for HZZO. The court ruled against Rudan, leaving her to pay the diagnostic cost herself. Her attorney Lina Budak plans an appeal, arguing that diagnosis and treatment are inseparable and that patients lacking personal funds cannot access the full course of care. The dispute highlights systemic issues in Croatia’s public financing of oncology services.