Brussels, 04/12/2001 (Agence Europe) - Using the written procedure, the European Commission agreed on Wednesday on a Communication on the future of healthcare and care for the elderly - access for all, high quality and financial sustainability - in the form of a policy paper that will be sent on to the Barcelona European Council in Spring 2002 and ultimately feed into the EU's annual Broad Economic Policy Guidelines. The Commission used the open coordination method for identifying the challenges for the future (an ageing population, increased public spending on healthcare of between 0.7 and 2.3% of GDP from 2000-2050, technological advances with new products and treatments, consumer expectations in terms of quality health care) and three common EU objectives - access for all to healthcare; high quality healthcare; and the financial sustainability of healthcare.
A Commission spokesperson explained that the basic idea was the same as for pensions, namely that the Commission puts forward objectives and Member States then decide whether they wish or are able to meet them, adding that it was the first Commission document on health care that looked at the issue from the macroeconomic and organisational viewpoint. The policy paper does not discuss specific illnesses or the medical market on the competition side, but concentrates on what are likely to be the healthcare needs for the elderly in 30 or 50 years time. The spokesperson stressed that the starting point for these issues is the fact that in the future, Member States will be faced by similar healthcare problems, but the debate is more complicated than for pensions, as there are many variables to the healthcare debate (it is difficult, for example, to foresee how diseases will develop).
Anna Diamantopoulou, who commented on the communication, pointed out that "access for all to decent healthcare and care for the elderly is part of our governments' contract with EU citizens. In order to deliver, we must plan ahead. And we must identify people's changing needs and act upon them".