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Abdul

-----Original Message-----
From: Jose C. Lacal [mailto:jose.lacal@...]
Sent: 19 December 2007 20:16
To: Roudsari, Abdul
Subject: [Seamless Health] 121907 - EU plans 'single market' for
healthcare.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/dec/19/health.nhs


EU plans 'single market' for healthcare
* David Batty and agencies
* Guardian Unlimited,
* Wednesday December 19 2007

Patients across the EU will be allowed to opt for healthcare in any
member state under new plans.

The European commission says EU citizens should be entitled to
healthcare anywhere in the union if the treatment is allowed in their
own country.

If EU ministers approve the measure, patients could be travelling
routinely abroad for treatment by 2010.

Under the proposals, to be published in January, patients would have to
pay up front for an operation in another EU country then apply to have
the cost reimbursed.

The new "single market" in medical treatment is partly a response to a
European legal ruling last year which stipulated that patients should be
reimbursed for receiving care abroad if there are "undue delays" in
getting treatment in their own country.

The ruling followed a case involving 75-year-old Briton Yvonne Watts,
who paid £3,900 for a hip replacement in France because she refused to
wait a year for an operation in the UK.

The NHS refused to reimburse her but EU judges said she was entitled to
shop around within the union because of long waiting times for her
treatment in Britain.

A European commission statement said that primary responsibility for
providing healthcare still rested with a patient's national government.

But it added: "In some instances healthcare may be better provided in
another member state - for rare conditions or specialised treatments for
example, or in the case of border regions where the nearest appropriate
facility may be in another country.

"Therefore the commission has developed a legal instrument to help
realise the potential of the European dimension for healthcare."

The proposals are controversial, with some Labour MPs claiming the
resultant "health tourism" would undermine the NHS. However, the
Conservatives welcomed the move as freedom for NHS patients to air their
views about the service.

Some experts predicted the proposals would only affect a relatively
small number of patients who were well placed - particularly in
douth-east England - to gain treatment in mainland Europe.

Labour MEP Linda McAvan, a member of the European parliament's public
health committee, said: "For many years, individual people have been
going to the European court of justice to establish their rights to
treatment in another country.

"Legislation in this area will be helpful if it provides clarity to the
public about the rules which apply when seeking treatment abroad and if
it helps health systems to manage requests for treatment in other EU
countries."

But ultimately, she said, it was the NHS that must decide what
treatment it pays for if UK patients choose to travel abroad for care.

It is expected that national governments would retain a significant say
in what treatments are allowed abroad. Hospital treatment is expected to
require prior authorisation from your domestic health service - although
non-hospital care will not.

"Case law already exists from the European court of justice which allows
patients who wish to receive care abroad to do so, and this has not
resulted in a large number of people wanting to go abroad for treatment
or a large number of other EU nationals seeking treatment in the UK.

"The priority for the vast majority of NHS patients is high-quality
healthcare received close to their homes."

John Bowis, Conservative health spokesman in the European parliament and
former UK health minister, said: "With ever-growing concerns over the
spread of hospital infections like C.difficile and MRSA, we will
doubtless see people voting with their feet on the government's
handling of the NHS."

Labour MEP Arlene McCarthy said the commission's plans should not raise
false expectations that patients can access healthcare in Europe
"anywhere, at any cost".

She said: "The right to access healthcare in other EU countries must not
undermine the integrity and financing of the NHS and it mustn't
disadvantage those who don't have the cash to pay upfront for
treatment."