EU ministers debate foreign health care costs

European Union governments are to hold special talks on how national health services will be hit by moves to allow patients to seek medical care anywhere in the EU, it was announced today.

The meeting, scheduled for early February, follows concern that a landmark court ruling delivered last year will weaken national health policy and land health and social security departments with huge extra bills beyond their control.

The European Court of Justice said in July 2001 that, in effect, the border-free Europe applies as much to the sick dependent on public funds as to workers and shoppers.

The judges ruled in favour of a Dutch patient who went abroad for treatment and wanted his costs covered by his own national health authority.

Yesterday EU governments formally began amendments to EU law in line with the legal verdict.

The court ruling made clear that shopping around in the EU for health care at the national taxpayers’ expense would only be allowed if appropriate treatment was not available at home, or if patients were facing “undue” delays in their own health services.

And national authorities will have a say in which hospital, and in which EU country, the patient is treated – to prevent everyone opting for “five-star” foreign health care.

Now negotiations are getting under way on how to ensure control of health services remains in national government hands.

A “process of reflection” began in October with a series of meetings involving government officials discussing “European co-operation to enable better use of resources, information requirements for patients, professionals and policy-makers and access to and quality of care“.

But a fourth issue – “reconciling national health policy with European obligations” – was deemed sensitive enough to be handled only by ministers, who will meet on February 3.

Traditionally health systems have been seen by the member states as strictly national – and the EU Treaty states: “Community action in the field of public health shall fully respect the responsibilities of the member states for the organisation and delivery of health services and medical care.”

This week EU health commissioner David Byrne reassured health ministers in Brussels that it remained up to member states how they organised their health systems – as long as they complied with latest EU law on permitting cross-border treatment.

“Member states are responsible for their own health care systems and will remain so,” said Mr Byrne.

“It is not the aim of this reflection process to change that, but it is an opportunity to consider the full range of issues affecting health systems at European level and to see how best to respond.

“European health systems share many common aims, whilst remaining distinctly national.”