EU denies health policy delay a ‘climbdown’

THE European Union has denied that yesterday’s last-minute postponement of a new policy on healthcare abroad was an “embarrassing climbdown”.

The European Commission’s office in Dublin said that the postponement of the new EU healthcare directive announcement in Brussels was caused by “pressure on the agenda” rather than any late policy shift.

The directive aims to clarify the rules on EU citizens travelling to another EU country for medical treatment because of long delays at home.

Following yesterday morning’s postponement, the European Federation of Public Service Unions described the delay as an “embarrassing climbdown” and said that the commission had made a “major miscalculation” in bringing forward the health directive.

According to EPSU general secretary Carola Fischbach-Pyttel, the directive is “unacceptable” to many throughout the European Union. “Unacceptable to health workers, professionals, managers, interest groups and particularly to patients,” she said.

“One has to wonder how out of touch this commission has to be to make such a miscalculation in a vital area like healthcare.”

She said that the postponement until spring was a “major victory” for advocates of universal healthcare coverage throughout the EU, rather than paid-for treatments in individual countries.

A press conference scheduled for yesterday by EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou was cancelled at the last-minute.

The EPSU — which numbers Irish public service union IMPACT among its members — said that the late change was “a clear illustration of the political pressure that healthcare advocates have brought to bear”.

The EPSU pledged to continue working with affiliates and allies in 2008, “to ensure that any healthcare proposal is built from the foundation of universality, solidarity, accessibility and equality”.

The new health directive, when it is finally launched, will have to be ratified by the European Parliament and individual member states before it comes into law.

The commission has spent several months working on the proposals, which look set to be formally announced in January.

The ratification process could take years.

The directive is designed to allow citizens to travel to any EU country for treatments which are the subject of “undue delay” in their home state. Having paid the cost, they would claim it back from their own health service.

The directive does include a “get-out clause”, which will allow a country to prove that the numbers who would travel abroad would threaten their own hospital systems. In such cases, patients would have to get the go-ahead from their own health service before travelling abroad for treatment.

www.ec.europa.eu

Q. What is the EU Health Directive?

A. An initiative sponsored by the European Commission that aims to allow people to travel across the union for any available treatment.

Q. How would the treatment be paid for?

A. Patients would settle the cost when they receive their treatment, and claim back the cost from their ‘home’ health service — such as the HSE in Ireland.

Q. Why introduce this?

A. The initiative is an attempt to cut waiting times for patients across the EU by maximising the availability of treatment.

Q. How is this relevant to Ireland?

A. This country has some of the longest waiting times for key medical treatments in the EU.

Q. Will all monies spent on treatments abroad be recompensed?

A. No. If the treatment proves more expensive abroad than it would have been at home, patients will have to top up the payment with their own money.

Q. What prompted the initiative?

A. Last year, the European Court of Justice ruled in favour of a 74-year-old British woman, Yvonne Watts, who travelled to France for a hip operation costing €6,000 and wanted to claim the cost back at home. The court awarded the case to her because of “undue delay”.

Q. When will the directive come into force?

A. Even before yesterday’s postponement of the directive announcement, it was likely to be years before full approval was received.

Q. Why so long?

A. It has to be approved by the European Parliament and the EU member states, with many amendments likely to be attempted.