Donini: “Insufficient resources to face new challenges, we need everyone’s commitment”
Today online the meeting with over 400 mayors of all political orientations, trade unions, associations, councils and health workers to support the regional initiative bill
August 24, 2023 – “One collection of signaturesalso through a digital platform, agendas to be discussed in City Councils and an event in October to make a common front with mayors of all political orientations, health professionals, trade unions, associations and councils in the process of approving the law”.
So the councilor for health policies of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Raffaele Doniniduring the meeting held online today dedicated to proposed law by the council, which provides for an increase in the national health fund of four billion a year. At the meeting, opened by a greeting from the president Stefano Bonacciniparticipated over 400 between mayors of all political orientations, trade unions, associations, councils and health operators.
“The country – continues Donini – needs more public health. The resources allocated by the Government from 2023 to 2025 are insufficient to face the new challenges facing public health. The underfunding of healthcare it has now become structural and this risks guaranteeing citizens less and less access to health and social-health services, as envisaged by the Constitution”.
According to the councilor, in fact, in the last eighteen months all the regions of Italy within the Health Commission and the Conference of Regions have requested the financing of funds for Covid and energy expenses, around 4 billion euros, and the adjustment of the national health fund in a structural way. The proposed law on the initiative of the Giunta asks stable resources over a multi-year period because not only is the fund today financially inadequate, but it has been difficult – for years – to do planning.
“It is an all-Italian paradox – Donini underlines again -, the same request comes from the Ministry of Health and in some respects also from the Court of Auditors. In the absence of this allocation, the Regions will continue to be called by the Ministry of the Treasury to realign spending. This means weakening the health production of our systems”.
“For this reason – he continues – our bill aims to bring the annual funding of the National Health Service to 7.5% of GDP and exceed the spending limit for employees. However, we need to a mobilization, institutional and popular, because we want this bill of ours to be an example for other similar initiatives. It is a battle that concerns everyone and we cannot accept that the national health system is at risk”.
Emilia-Romagna is the first Region to attempt to elevate a repeated request to a bill, but Donini has good reason to believe that it will not be the only one because a similar debate is underway in other Regions. “The more we will be, the stronger the stimulus to Parliament will be to put the issue of financial sustainability for health at the center”.
Today’s meeting – concludes the commissioner – which saw a wide and transversal participation, with over 400 present and about fifty interventions orally and in the chat of the event, was a first moment to find ways and times to support and promote the legislative initiative.
Most of the participants expressed that they shared the initiative’s objectives. Furthermore, councilor Donini announced that, during the discussion of the bill in the Health Commission, all the parliamentarians elected in Emilia-Romagna will be audited.
Who wants support the bill can connect to the address:
The proposal from Emilia-Romagna
bring to 7.5% of GDP il annual funding of the National Health Service to be able to respond to the new challenges and new care and assistance needs of citizens, and to avoid the financial collapse of Italian healthcare. This is what the draft law of the Emilia-Romagna Regional Council envisages, which after the go-ahead from the Regional Council last July 31st will then go through its Legislative Assembly and will then be submitted to the Chambersas foreseen by article 121 paragraph 2 of the Constitution and article 28 of the regional Statute.
A proposal, the one promoted by the council led by President Bonaccini, in defense of public health and universalismto continue to ensure – with stable and adequate resources – maintenance and functioning of the national health systemalready put to the test by the pandemic and now highly at risk.
The regional initiative bill fits into a context in which the demand for health and social care services Is increasing because the population is progressively aging and the National Health Servicealready today underfinanced compared to the needs of the population, he is in trouble compared to the coverage of the costs of the Regions determined by the pandemic.
In the 2021 the ordinary financing of the National Health System in relation to the GDP was equal to 6,9% (source Ministry of Economy and Finance, State General Accounting Department). In the 2019 had even gone down to the 6,4%, compared to countries such as Germany, which allocates 9.9% of GDP to finance public health expenditure; France 9.3%; the United Kingdom 8% (OECD data). Furthermore, the Update Note to the DEF of 4 November 2022 envisages a level of health expenditure which in 2025 goes down to 6% of GDP.