EU Commissioner for Health: Reforms are necessary to avoid collapse of health system

19:15 29/4/2014 - Πηγή: Matrix24

European Commissioner for Health Tonio Borg said in an interview to ANA-MPA WebTV that if reforms in the health sector had not been implemented in Greece, the healthcare system would have collapsed.

Tonio Borg,

who is visiting Athens to participate in a EU Health ministers informal meeting, noted that before the crisis "the need for reforms was visible, but after the crisis it became urgent."

He also explained that the problem is not only Greek, but reforms should be implemented in other countries' health systems so as to adjust to the new situation and avoid problems in the future.

"I can tell you the positive and the negative aspects of what has happened in Greece. There was an improvement in the reduction of pharmaceutical expenditure. Greece spent almost 2 pct of the GDP for medicine. This has changed," Borg said adding that the European Commission is not yet satisfied with the healthcare coverage of the people in Greece because the reforms, as he said, should also take into consideration the social parameters.

"The uninsured apparently need additional protection measures," he noted adding that the patients' insurance coverage remains one of the targets.

"If the crisis led to a better coverage for the citizens in the future, let's stick to the positive aspect of the crisis and not to the crisis itself. We can't talk about healthcare without a stable health system," Borg said and explained that "without reforms, most of the European health systems will collapse. For that reason, the reduction of expenses was necessary and not only because we were ordered by the troika."

Referring to health policy on migrants, Borg said: "What we are trying to do is to set guidelines. To define when and which migrants should undergo medical examination based on the country of their origin. We do not see migrants as disease vectors, but we must ensure that some diseases of the past will not appear again".

source: ΑΜΝΑ