Fault lies in Basic Health Law, says MP (former president of Order of Physicians)
Portugal’s centre-right government is to propose restrictions on access by non-resident foreigners to the state health service (SNS).
The reason lies in the numbers that have been treated, often free of charge, at the state’s expense.
As SIC Notícias explains, “social democrats point out that many citizens who are not based in Portugal come to Portugal to enjoy treatments that they find difficult to do in their own country”.
One immediate example of this is the twin girls, living in Brazil, who came here for the most expensive drug treatment in the world…
Today, PSD MP Miguel Guimarães – himself a former president of the Order of Physicians – argued that the main aim of this measure is to put an end to the ‘abusive use of the SNS’.
On the sidelines of the proposal, Guimarães explained that “in the opinion of the PSD and CDS, this undue demand for the SNS has clearly been fuelled by the current wording of the Basic Health Law”.
What the party wants is that, “except in the case of urgent and vital care, the access of foreigners in a situation of regular stay, or non-residents in national territory, must be accompanied by the presentation of proof of the provision of health care coverage, as well as the necessary documentation for proper identification and contact abroad”.
With this proposal, he continued, the CDS and PSD want to “guarantee the rights’ of SNS beneficiaries, “promoting the sustainability of the Welfare State”.
“We think there is a network that is promoting these situations”
Miguel Guimarães added that many citizens who are not legalised come to Portugal to enjoy treatments that “they find difficult to do in their own country”.
“We think there is even a network that is promoting these situations. Obviously, with a loss of our response capacity in global terms, but it’s also a situation that shouldn’t happen”.
Miguel Guimarães stressed that “it is important’ that there is a guarantee that services will be covered and that healthcare will be paid for at the point of care.
“We have to follow this path to avoid this misuse – I would even say abuse – of the SNS”, he said.
Regarding a vote on this bill, he called on all parties to contribute to eliminating this “extremely unfair situation”.
Whether other parties see the situation as extremely unfair is, of course, what we will have to wait to find out. By citing the Basic Health Law, Mr Guimarães is inadvertently pointing the finger at the Socialist administration that devised it.
