CROSS-BORDER HEALTH CARE : LONG-TERM CARE LIKELY TO FALL OUT OF SCOPE.

Justifying the findings of an earlier progress report, the public debate on the draft directive on cross-border health care at the Health Council of 16 December reaffirmed that views differ widely on how this directive should be implemented. Several member states fear the loss of national sovereignty in the area of health care, and the impact of the projected influx of patients from other member states is also a cause for concern. For one, Luxembourg said that it was not satisfied with the proposal as it stands, stressing that it will not support the draft directive unless it receives guarantees that it can retain its national powers.

The proposed directive covers three areas: first, it seeks to guarantee safe and high-quality health care for all patients. Secondly, it aims to help patients make use of their rights to cross-border health care, in order to codify the case law of the EU Court of Justice on the reimbursement aspects of cross-border health care. Lastly, it aims to promote cooperation between the national health systems.

However, views differ on the need for such a directive and on how exactly this area should be regulated. During the 10 December meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper I), the main points of discussion were (even after the French Presidency came up with a compromise version of the draft directive) the provisions on quality and safety', prior authorisation for hospital care, the scope of the directive (the definition of health care), the definition of hospital and specialised care, and the linkage between the regulation and the way national social security systems are coordinated.

Cyprus voiced strong concerns about the proposed directive. The Cypriots said that that since health care systems differ widely across the Union, "it will be hard to implement the directive uniformly throughout the EU". Their concerns were particularly focused on long-term health care. An influx of long-term patients would put tremendous pressure on the island state's health care system, Cyprus said, adding that this will probably be a problem for all the small member states.

EU Health Commissioner...

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