Dalli calls for discussion on health insurance

Social Policy Minister John Dalli this afternoon urged the opposition to work with the government on making the health system sustainable well into the future.

He said the government has taken initial steps on a process to consider whether a health insurance system should be introduced by hiving off part of social security contributions and channelling it to the health account. This was a complicated matter – should there be public or private insurance and what should be covered?

But the first problem was to clearly establish what the health service was costing the country, and an accountant had been engaged to establish that.

Turning to expenditure on medicines, Mr Dalli said costs were rising fast. Should the state continuing to hand out free Panadols or concentrate on the more expensive, life-saving medicines? The government had just introduced Herceptin, but there was a whole list of other medicines which could be considered. The system, however, could not continue to be burdened.

The minister criticised the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses for ordering industrial action. He said the government was committed to honouring the collective agreement. But many things took time, in view of government bureaucracy – something which needed to be tackled too.

He agreed with the union that the nursing course should be reduced. Why did the course take three years in the UK and four in Malta?