Amid the debate over the General State Budgets (PGE) For next year, the Minister of Health, Mónica García, presented the public accounts as a success for the entire health system, but ignored that these are all initiatives led by the autonomous communities such as oral health, primary care improvement plans or metal health. Likewise, he also lied about Spain having territorial equity in health funds, since Pedro Sánchez’s tax donation to Catalonia will allow this community to have 1.9 billion more than the others.
Garcia defended that the PGE will guarantee greater health equity between territories, but reality reflects this Catalonia will be one of the major beneficiaries of the health system. Once again, the minister’s political discourse demonstrates the lack of real initiatives to ensure that communities have larger budgets and equal access to services such as oncology, ophthalmology or dermatologyamong others.
The minister insists that with these budgets, the objective is to correct territorial gaps There are differences between communities in access to public health care, but only in pharmacological equity. Thus, sources popular They insisted that “they talk about territorial equality, but the reality is that they continue to benefit the same communities year after year.”
For her part, from the Community of Madrid, the president Isabel Diaz Ayuso He also showed his unease over the distribution of the budget. “It is unacceptable that the central government continues to privilege some communities while others have to do more with less,” Ayuso said.
The Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, assured that this Catalan fiscal pact will not affect “equality” in fundamental areas such as health, one of the pillars of the Spanish welfare state, but in reality it is quite the opposite, because this will clearly increase the differences.
In this sense, Jordi Fabrega de Junts, stressed that the problem in Catalonia is that “between 12 and 13 billion euros are budgeted for health – and not 11,000 as is claimed – and 15,000 or 16,000 are spent”, adding 1,900 million in additional offers an indecent figure, before all the autonomous communities it doesn’t happen at the end of the year because of the high costs of health care. And if in addition this obscene budget would lead to excellence in the quality of care, It would be less offensive, but it turns out that his health is deteriorating.
We present our accounts to the PGE to make rights a daily reality:
– Expansion of services: oral and visual health
– Action plan for primary care
– Mental health plan and suicide prevention plan
– Territorial equity in health funds pic.twitter.com/Nf8Q9PE0cJ– Monica Garcia (@Monica_Garcia_G) September 16, 2024
Lack of equity in Spain
And what the Minister of Health has failed to understand is that equity in access to health services is a key priority and that, as the World Health Organizationbecause of its importance in reducing health inequalities, should be a generalized model. Similarly, the Member States of the European Union They are mandated to ensure equal access for those with similar needs. achieve a equitable access This involves addressing multiple aspects: from identifying perceived needs to providing adequate, quality services at a reasonable cost to those who need them.
This approach is related to previous definitions, where the objective of equity involves overcoming various barriers: in the search for health care (encouraging people to seek help), in entering the system (ensuring that care is received when it is needed), during the use of services (overcoming barriers such as waiting times, costs or distances) and at the end of the care process (ensuring that the health problem is resolved).
Health expenditure figures in Spain
To better understand the possible implications of this agreement, it is important to analyze the current differences in health spending per capita in Spain. According to the latest report from the Ministry of Health itself, the average spending per capita varies considerably between the autonomous communities. At the national level, the average health expenditure per capita in 2023 was around 1,670 euros. However, regions like Basque Country and Navarrewho also appreciate a special tax regime, They have significantly higher figures, with 2,000 and 1,800 euros per inhabitant respectively. Cataloniain comparison, is about 1,500 euros per inhabitant, but with the new agreement it could even exceed the figures of the regional communities.
