Spanje hoopt nieuwe impuls te geven aan debat over patiëntenmobiliteit (en)

Spain hopes to give impetus to the new proposal on patientmobility in the EU i, during the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO), scheduled for 7 and 8 June in Luxembourg.

The Spanish Ministers for Employment and Immigration, Celestino Corbacho, for Health and Social Policy, Trinidad Jiménez, and for Equality, Bibiana Aído, will chair Monday's session, which will deal with social policy and employment issues.

It is expected that the Council will reach a policy agreement regarding a draft regulation which would permit the application of EU regulations governing the coordination of the social security rights of citizens of third countries.

In addition, a report by the Spanish Presidency on progress made with regard to tasks associated with a draft directive for the implementation of the principal of equal treatment of persons regardless of religion, political views, age or sexual orientation will be considered.

In order to contribute to the 17 June European Council, EPSCO ministers will debate employment policy in the context of the 2020 Strategy and attempt to reach an agreement on EU objectives with regard to social inclusion and poverty reduction.

Patient mobility

The minister, Trinidad Jiménez, will chair Tuesday's session, during which Spain hopes to give impetus to the new proposal on patient of mobility, which would prevent the public healthcare system from being burdened with excessive additional costs.

Last December, the initial draft directive was blocked by a group of countries headed by Spain, which cited both financial reasons and that the text did not guarantee the quality and safety of treatments received in other member-states.

The new proposal modifies some of the most controversial points, such as specifying the countries which must pay for treatments received by its citizens in other Member States, as well as the requirements for accessing said services.

Spain was opposed to the reimbursement regulation envisaged in the initial proposal because it involved a high cost to the Spanish healthcare system, which would be responsible for providing healthcare to pensioners of other Member States residing in Spain.

According to the general regulation included in the new Spanish proposal, the patient's country of residence must pay for the patient's treatment. However, if the patient decided to return to his country of origin for treatment, then the latter would pay treatment costs even if the citizen had legal residence in another Member State.

Another more controversial aspect was the requirement that those patients seeking medical care in another Member State obtain prior authorisation from the health care systems in their countries of origin.

The draft drawn up by Spain sets forth that said authorisation shall only be necessary for treatments requiring the patient's admission to hospital for at least one night or the use of 'high technology' medical treatments, such as radiotherapy or Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

If a political agreement with regard to the Spanish proposal is reached on Tuesday, the Twenty-seven will subsequently attempt to negotiate a common text with the European Parliament.

The new directive on cross-border medical care may be available by this autumn under the Belgium Presidency in-turn.