On Monday, Chega introduced a bill aimed at “flexibility in the legal regime for public-private partnerships” in the health sector in case of “reasonable need”, given that the current state of the National Health Service justifies it.
In a legislative initiative made public in the media, the party proposes to “eliminate legal and bureaucratic restrictions to ensure, first of all, the health of citizens”, given that “the SNA is currently “under fire””, with “closed emergency conditions, unresponsive gynecological and obstetric services, surgeries and examinations many months late.”
The party led by André Ventura proposes to amend the 2019 Basic Health Law, namely Fundamental 6, establishing that “the responsibility of the state to realize the right to health is carried out primarily through the SNA and other public services.” and contracts should be concluded with private individuals and the social sector, as well as with self-employed professionals, where justified need.
This law currently states that relevant contracts concluded with private individuals and the social sector, or with self-employed healthcare professionals, can be concluded “on an additional and temporary basis”.
The Basic Health Law also establishes in its “Base 25” that “in order to provide health care and services to beneficiaries of the SNS, and when the SNS does not have a clear ability to provide assistance in a timely manner, contracts may be negotiated with private sector entities, the social sector and professionals working independently, subject to an assessment of their needs.
In this regard, Chega wants to consider “the ability to provide assistance in a timely manner, the maximum guaranteed response time, determined by the Decree approved by the government member responsible for health.”
The party also proposes to amend Decree-Law No. , which would read: “Conclusion of partnership agreements in the management of health care, in addition to other legally applicable requirements, should take place whenever there is a reasonable need.”
Currently, the law establishes that this need is “demonstrated in the study of the General Directorate of the Health System, IP and the territorially competent regional health department, which is approved by the member of the Government responsible for the health sector after a public discussion that precedes the submission of a reasoned proposal referred to in paragraph 1 of Article 9 of Decree-Law no.
Chega suggests that this study could be abandoned “in case of obvious urgency, by order of a government member with public health authority.”
Among the changes proposed by the party is also an amendment to article 4 of this law, which determines that “the entity that manages the medical institution that is the object of the partnership agreement, abbreviated as the managing entity, must be a commercial company, the exclusive object of which is to carry out activities stipulated by the agreement”.
In this article, Chega eliminates the need for the managing entity to be a “commercial company with headquarters and principal administration located in Portugal” as defined by current law.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
