Health care to remain free - PM

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi gave a guarantee this morning that health care would remain free.

Replying to a question by the Pensioners Alliance during a business breakfast for the social partners and civil society, Dr Gonzi explained that the controversy on free health care had erupted because the government wanted to strengthen and give more importance to the family doctor, who, at the moment, was not free.

The government wanted to provide family doctors with the facility to access a patient’s data from their own clinics.

In the last legislature, the government had focused on institutional health, it was now concentrating its efforts on primary health care, strengthening the family doctor, health centres and the pharmacy of your choice scheme.

Dr Gonzi stressed the important of national interest always coming first when there were disagreements relating to particular sectors. He also said he disagreed with monopolies which took consumers forgranted. The people, the Prime Minister said, deserved the best service at the best price.

He agreed with a proposal that all the country’s MEPs should work together in the national interests and said this should not only limited to MEPs but also to Malta’s representatives in EU institutions, such as the Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee.

The government and Maltese MEPs, whatever political party they represented, had to tow the same rope in the country’s interest and uphold values which were part of the national identity.

Dr Gonzi said that the MCESD should discuss the exploitation of workers especially at this time of recession.

The government, he said, needed flexibility to introduce incentives for certain sectors, such as special stipends for students taking up courses in subjects which were needed by the country.

This had been done but other students then started requesting the same treatment. There had to be an allowance of flexibility.

MHRA president Kevin Decesare pointed out to Dr Gonzi that his comment that hotels and catering establishments had increased their prices was not fair, especially since these had gone down by between 20 and 40 per cent.

Dr Gonzi said that it was strange that NSO calculations showed that these had increased their prices by four percent in April when compared to March and by 11 percent when compared to April last year.

The MHRA and the NSO were now discussing changes to the method of how rates were calculated so that figures would better reflect the truth.

Dr Gonzi announced that the government was to start working on the pre-budget document in June.

Replying to a comment by Victor Spiteri, the president of the Public Transport Association, Dr Gonzi said it was natural that workers were worried but he did not agree that consultation had not been carried out. However, the country had to have an open tender process since this was being imposed by the EU. “We have to understand each other’s position,” he said.

In what could be taken as a warning, Mr Spiteri said that Minister Austin Gatt seemed to only want to discuss what compensation bus owners should get to move out of the way. “We do not wish another July 2008 event,” he said.