Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-01-18-Speech-2-427-000"
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"en.20110118.19.2-427-000"2
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"Mr President, I will speak for four minutes and keep the remaining two minutes for the end of the debate.
Parliament has made progress on other points, too: each Member State will have to establish national contact points to provide patients with the best possible information and guidance based on their needs. Each national contact point will act as a one-stop shop and must cooperate with the other national contact points. This will mean that patients receive clear and accurate information.
The issue of reimbursement, which is, in fact, a fundamental obstacle, has been greatly improved, and either a compensation mechanism can be used, as is currently the case with Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 on social security, or the patient will have to pay up front and be reimbursed as quickly as possible.
We also ultimately succeeded in ensuring that patients suffering from rare diseases do not have to fend for themselves so much, and can access external expertise to diagnose the disease and help ensure that prior authorisation for healthcare is granted.
I will conclude by saying that, thanks to European cooperation in areas such as the European reference networks, patients will have access to highly specialised care, the aim being to encourage the sharing of experiences in order to improve performance, diagnosis and treatment in the interests of patients.
This is why we can say to ourselves today that we have achieved our goal, and once again I would like to thank all my fellow Members. I could say that what is being built through this directive is the Europe of health.
Mr President, Mrs Győri, Commissioner, finally we can see the light at the end of the tunnel on this subject, which is extremely important for patients.
We could no longer remain in a confused situation in which the law was decreed by the Court of Justice of the European Union. The directive now sets clear rules for the mobility of patients within Europe. What type of treatment can one receive abroad? How and based on what criteria can one be reimbursed? How are the responsibilities shared between the Member State of affiliation and the Member State of treatment? All the answers to these questions now appear in the draft directive.
Allow me, first and foremost, to thank the Belgian Presidency for its excellent work throughout the negotiations. Its capacity to convince played a decisive role, because it must be stressed that several Member States did not want this directive. I think that was a question of irresponsibility.
I would also like to pay tribute to my friend and former Member, Mr Bowis, who is in the gallery. As the rapporteur at first reading, he was also involved in creating this directive, and has always fought for patients’ rights. I would, of course, also like to thank Commissioner Dalli, and my fellow shadow rapporteurs, who all made a very active contribution to the conclusion of the negotiations, and without whom nothing would have been possible.
What is at stake here for patients? Medical progress means that healthcare can no longer be provided locally for all diseases and that sometimes, it must be provided across borders. This may be the case for patients who live in border regions, where healthcare provided abroad is sometimes closer than that provided in their own country. It may also be due to the fact that there are more resources and expertise available in another Member State, such as for certain highly specialised treatments.
Finally, for some Europeans, it may quite simply be more practical to receive healthcare outside their country of affiliation because they have family living in another Member State. Consumers, employees, students and now patients will be able to benefit from mobility rights within the Union thanks to clear legislation.
The idea is not, of course, to encourage any sort of medical tourism, as social security systems, their organisation and their management remain the full responsibility of the Member States. Patients will now generally be able to receive all the healthcare to which they are entitled at home in another Member State, and be reimbursed up to the level of costs assumed by their own system.
For hospital treatment involving an overnight stay or using specialised or cost-intensive technology, the Member State may establish a prior authorisation system. This will mean that the needs for planning and investment by the Member States in their healthcare structure can be taken into consideration. Parliament has succeeded in ensuring that the conditions for refusing prior authorisation are limited and set out in an exhaustive list, in order to give patients legal certainty."@en1
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