The current Minister of Health of Cantabria, Caesar Pascual, in PP, starred in an embarrassing scene where he had to apologize. During an event in Santander Medical Journal defended the application of a health co-payment: “Waiting lists are a management tool. There are waiting lists because the system is not able to absorb all the demand and because we have organizational failures, but there are only two ways to handle it: you take the line or co-pay. You go to the airport and, if you go to business, you don’t wait in line and go straight in. And when you go for your tourist ticket, you have to wait in line”
Similarly, he stated: “We all complain about HEALTH We need more money, and it is true, we will need more and more, but we also know that the percentage of the regional budget is this and we will not be able to improve much, because we also need to build and schools, because the neighbors They want to fix their road, and they have the right. “We will grow next year’s budget, more than other ministries, but we know we have a limit.”
El PP plantea servicios business con copagos para agilizar las listas de espera en la sanidad pública de Cantabria. Aquí lo explica el consejero César Pascual. pic.twitter.com/qTrS3U8D6j
— Pablo Zuloaga /🤍❤️ (@Pablo_Zuloaga) October 11, 2023
Because of these statements, the leader of the PSOE in Cantabria, Pablo Zuluagastrongly criticized Pascual: “The PP proposes services business with co-payments to facilitate waiting lists in the public health system of Cantabria. The socialist also pointed out that “what the PP ultimately aims for is two-speed public health care: waiting lists where those who have the most, those who pay the most, run the most .”
Pablo Pascual was forced to apologize
The controversy created caused the PP advisor to ask for forgiveness: “The first thing I want to say is that the comparison I made with the waiting lists of airline flights was not lucky. I was wrong, I was wrong and I apologize because many people who are waiting for a surgical operation, a consultation, or a diagnostic test may feel hurt and, in that sense, I’m sorry,” he said in a press conference on Friday.
Also, after the apology, Pascual said that his statements were taken out of context and that the Government of Cantabria is not in favor of co-payment: “In that intervention, taken out of context, I never raised or defended co-payment in Public healthcare. I am not in favor of co-payment and neither is the Government of Cantabria and the Popular Party. And not only do we reject co-payment, but we strongly oppose it because it seems unfair to us, because it is a ‘payment’ because Health is financed by the tax of all. There is no co-payment in the public health system of Cantabria as long as the Popular Party is in charge.”
The newly appointed president of Cantabria, Maria Jose Saenz de Buruaga (PP), appointed César Pascual as head of the Ministry of Health in this legislature. Pascual, a prominent member of the Popular Party of Cantabria and with experience in health management, previously held a high-ranking position in the Madrid Health Service and held the position of manager of several hospitals, including the Marqués de Valdecilla Hospital in Santander.
It is important to emphasize that César Pascual is a prominent person in the field of health within the Cantabrian Popular Party. Previously, he was politically responsible for the controversial €900 million mega-contract awarded to a construction company that employed his children. His return to the front line of politics in the autonomous government happened after previously working under the direction of María José Sáenz de Buruaga in the previous season, following the May 28 elections.
What is the copayment?
Health care co-payment refers to a system where patients must contribute a portion of the costs associated with their health care services, in addition to the coverage provided by their health insurance or the public healthcare system. In simple terms, it involves a financial contribution to patients to cover the costs of their health care. This approach has been implemented in various health systems around the world to distribute costs between patients and the healthcare system.
