Today's EU citizens live longer and healthier lives than their predecessors. Nevertheless, while life expectancy has increased, large health disparities persist between different Member States and regions. EPP-CoR rapporteur Birgitta Sacrédeus', Member of Dalarna County Council (SE), opinion 'Integration, cooperation and performance of health systems' was adopted today in the European Committee of the Regions' Commission for Natural resources meeting to help address the health gap in Europe.
Health is a crucial component to the prosperity and well-being of society. As Member States possess different healthcare and social care systems with divergent access to resources, it is clear that a more integrated European health system policy could benefit by helping to improve public health, prevent diseases and eliminate health risks.
"Effective prevention and high quality care – these are the key ways to reduce health inequalities in the EU. A gap of almost nine years exists between the EU countries with the highest and lowest average life expectancies. As higher life expectancy is often connected with better lifestyle and education- but also good quality healthcare – by bringing European healthcare systems closer to each other, we can try to narrow the health gap in our Union of 500 million EU citizens." Rapporteur Sacrédeus emphasised.
The opinion considers that adequate and sustainable financing is vital in guaranteeing the quality, coverage and access to healthcare. It also raises attention to the burden of chronic diseases and mental illness and calls for increased readiness in order to provide a sustainable healthcare platform. Moreover, a patient-centric approach is stressed as a tool to increase the quality of care and medical outcomes. It also considers that better planning and coordination between the health and education sectors would provide sound opportunities for professional development.