Vigenin: Access to quality healthcare should not depend on your income or the country you live in

“Access to quality healthcare should not depend on which EU country you live in or what your income is.” This was stated by Kristian Vigenin, MEP from the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, who today hosted a discussion with representatives of the International Association of Mutual Benefit Societies (AIM), which brings together health funds and mutual societies working on a solidarity-based, not-for-profit basis.

The participants discussed the European initiatives on biotechnology, medical devices and cardiovascular health, and ways to encourage medical innovation without new medicines and technologies becoming inaccessible to patients.

An idea for EU-wide supplementary health insurance

Former European Commissioner for Health Vytenis Andriukaitis presented an idea for an EU-wide supplementary health insurance scheme that would build on national systems and gradually close the gaps in access to treatment between member states.

“This proposal deserves a serious discussion. Today European citizens have the same basic rights, but their chances of getting timely diagnosis, modern treatment and the medicines they need still differ considerably. For Bulgaria, this issue is particularly important,” Vigenin said.

Healthcare in the next EU budget

The MEP stressed that “innovation must go hand in hand with affordable prices, security and solidarity”. In the negotiations on the next long-term EU budget, he will keep pushing for healthcare to get a clearer place and adequate funding.

“The European Health Union must not remain just a political ambition; it must become a real guarantee of better healthcare for all Europeans,” he concluded.