European Commission wants to celebrate 4th July with disastrous USA style healthcare system

PRESS BRIEFING in EN/FR/DE/ES/SV


European Commission wants to celebrate 4th July with disastrous USA style healthcare system

Lesson of Lisbon still not heard as Brussels executive looks to makes grab for control of national healthcare systems

(1 July, Brussels) The European Federation of Public service Union has learned that the European Commission is set to publish a radical proposal on cross-border healthcare, this Thursday July 3. The draft proposal, which has been seen by EPSU, wants to give huge powers over healthcare to the Commission. In particular, the Brussels Executive wants to take power to define hospital care in all EU member states. The draft document states that; “In particular, power should be conferred on the Commission to define for the purposes of this Directive a list of treatments, other than those requiring overnight accommodation, to be subject to the same regime as hospital care” (page 20, explanatory statement)

The proposal for the Commission to draw up a list of treatments that constitute hospital care is a direct contradiction to article 152 of the EU treaty, which; “fully respect the responsibilities of the Member States for the organisation and delivery of health services and medical care”.

The Commission is giving a green light to an individual free for all in the sector, where all that matters is the health of your wallet. EPSU health union representatives urge the Commission to promote a framework which gives support to EU member states to provide quality healthcare services for all.

EPSU General Secretary, Carola Fischbach-Pyttel stated that; “It is darkly comic that the European Commission should choose the eve of the 4th of July to propose a healthcare system that would lead us down the road of the American healthcare model. At present over 48 million American citizens can not afford healthcare insurance. The Commission wants to allow the same profit motive to be applied here in the EU”.

Bolkestein - the sequel, say health unions

The key political point of the proposal lies in the definition of “cross-border healthcare”. Although the Commission has repeatedly tried to keep a narrow focus on what it calls “patient choice and mobility”, the content does not match the label. The actual definition in the draft includes; “Cross-border provision of healthcare (i.e.: delivery of service from the territory of one Member State into the territory of another)”. (page 22, preamble).

This directive opens the door for private healthcare operators to start providing services, from one country to another, without adequate checks and balances. It is yet another attempt by the Commission to start a race to the bottom by allowing services to be based primarily on the ability to pay. “The draft is not about patients going to health providers in other member states but rather the health companies coming to service rich clients” - EPSU General Secretary

- Please see attached ten point briefing note for some of the key issues.
- Please see joint statement by EPSU and European Hospital Employers' organisation, HOSPEEM here

The Commission and President Barosso are proving that they have not learned the lessons from the Irish no vote to the Lisbon treaty. “Until the decision makers in Brussels realize that it is precisely this kind of “business not citizens” approach that is causing the problem, the negative perception of the EU will just grow and grow”.

The Commission already tried to publish an almost identical health draft in December 2007, but were successfully halted by a coalition of employers' organisations, health unions, patient groups and health NGO's.

-ends-

For further information, please contact:

Tamara Goosens +32 2 250 10 80, [email protected]

Brian Synnott +32 474 98 96 75, [email protected]


"EPSU is the European Federation of Public Service Unions. It is the largest federation of the ETUC. 8 million public service workers from over 200 trade unions are members. They organise workers in the energy, water and waste sectors, health and social services and local and national administration ".




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