Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-11-15-Speech-3-143"
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"en.20001115.6.3-143"2
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure to hear Members from all groups who accept their responsibility regarding social policy and who are prepared to work towards a consensus. I would like to thank you Michel, as rapporteur, for your initiative in bringing the issue of supplementary health insurance to attention now, at the appropriate time.
I have some general comments on this subject. We had never had it as good as now. This is reflected in the fact that our life expectancy is increasing by three years every ten years, and that is not because we are leading a healthier lifestyle. We are living to an older age because the body of medical knowledge is doubling every five years. However, medical treatment is costing more and more money! However, equal access to health care must be available to everyone, without exception. This is important if we want a social Europe that sets us apart from others. For example, although we often take the United States as a model for the free market economy, it would be a fatal mistake to follow their lead in health policy.
For instance, we see that in the US system, health costs as measured against gross domestic product are nearly twice as high as the EU average, and that in the United States there are still some 40Â million people who have inadequate health insurance. That is scarcely what you would call a responsible social policy.
So, as far as the European Union is concerned, it is more a question of seeking to develop a combination of health insurance and supplementary health insurance that does not sacrifice quality and is not socially exclusive.
The debate on health insurance in the EU must not end up going down a blind alley. Unless there are pan-European requirements for supplementary insurance, we will have to be extremely cautious about the existing systems. The risk that the less healthy and the elderly may not necessarily be able to secure full private insurance cover because they represent too high a risk is quite unacceptable in terms of social development. Flawed thinking of this kind has no place in the European Union. Therefore, during the first phase, we need to prepare a Green Paper on the situation of supplementary health insurance in the EU as soon as possible.
Following on from that, we will have to define minimum standards for supplementary insurance in Europe if we wish to achieve and further develop a reasonably equitable and socially balanced health-care system in the EU worthy of the name of a social Union. After all, that is what we want, is it not?"@en1
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