Brussels, 05/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - Discussions at the recent meeting of the European Health Forum were dominated by the refugee crisis and the challenges linked to access to new and innovative medicines, two issues which are also among the priorities of the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the EU. The event, which was attended by Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis and Luxembourg Health Minister Lydia Mutsch was held in Bad Hofgastein, Austria on 1-2 October 2015. It brought together key players in the field of public health, including policy-makers and representatives from the European Commission, the European Parliament, the World Health Organisation and leading forces of organised civil society. The theme chosen was “Securing Health in Europe: balancing priorities, sharing responsibilities”.
“We need a major shift in the way we finance, organise and operate our health systems”, stated Andriukaitis. “Investment in prevention is crucial if we are to guarantee our patients a financially viable health system based on European values of universality, solidarity and equal access to high-quality healthcare”, added Mutsch. She stated her belief that access to healthcare for migrants is a basic human right. It is, she argued, for the member states to respond to the specific health needs of migrants, whilst maintaining a high level of national cover. Andriukaitis said that more had to be done to ensure that migrants have appropriate access to care. He welcomed the agreement between Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg to conduct price negotiations collectively on innovative medicines. “We need an open debate on medicine pricing because, when it is covered by commercial secret, it creates mistrust”, he said. (Original version in French by Isabelle Lamberty)