The government should listen to its own Minister of Health: it was Orazio Schillaci himself who indicated that 5.5 billion euros were needed to support the National Health Fund. Yet, according to the latest rumors, just under 2.5 billion euros would be available in the next Budget. This is a clear and unacceptable gap between the needs of the National Health Service and the responses the government appears to want to provide.
Thus, the President of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Alessandra Todde, along with six other fellow governors (Michele De Pascale for Emilia-Romagna, Stefania Proietti – Umbria, Eugenio Giani – Tuscany, Roberto Fico – Campania, and Antonio Decaro – Puglia) , once again reiterate the centrality of the need to adequately finance Italian public healthcare.
"Healthcare must be at the heart of the next Budget," they emphasize. For the presidents, "it is an absolute priority to allocate at least the amount Minister Schillaci indicated; not even a single euro less is conceivable. We Regions are willing to collaborate, to do our part, and we expect that all Regions will fight to achieve this goal, consistently, for example, with the statements already made by the Lombardy Regional Health Councilor, Guido Bertolaso. For this reason, we are also appealing to all political forces, both majority and opposition, to ensure this is the main thrust of the next Budget."
At stake, they conclude, "is the stability of the National Health Service and, with it, a fundamental principle: the right to health cannot depend on people's economic conditions."
(Unioneonline)
