Health care fees

Wednesday, February 27, 2008, a.m.: Alfred Sant reveals a fees-for-health care policy paper wherein there is a declaration that the Cabinet had agreed in principle that the Maltese and Gozitan citizens should be asked to pay for public health care.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008, p.m.: Gonzipn is flown out from Gozo by AFM helicopter for an urgent press conference to deny such claims.

Thursday, February 28: The author of the policy document comes to the PM's aid by taking ownership of the report and attempting to remove any doubts about whether Cabinet had discussed this proposal.

But one question continues to linger in the mind:

If as stated on Xarabank by Lawrence Gonzi last Friday he would rather resign than introduce such measures, how can Dr Gonzi react to the fact that there was complete silence on his part when the IMF, in its 2007 Article IV Consultation with Malta document stated on Page 12 when referring to the local health care scene that "Against this background the Maltese authorities did not see a need for introducing co-payments at this stage."

Was the government misquoted in this instance too, as happened in the Ray Xerri compiled policy brief?

If according to media reports Minister Louis Galea had ordered Dr Xerri to take the document back because the opinions he expressed in the document "did not reflect government's social policy", in the case of the IMF why did the government not rule out co-payments completely as the PM stated recently, rather than accepting the statement - that is also available on line - that such a need has only been ruled out at this stage?

It would have been illogical for the government to consider committing itself to introducing such public health care fees in a 2007 document that was published internationally when the general election in Malta was hardly six months away!