The Appeals Court confirmation that the authorities’ refusal to cover urgently required surgery abroad was in violation of EU laws is good news. This is in line with the stand the European Parliament adopted last January on the application of patients’ rights in cross-border health care. I am on record to have objected to the government contesting this EU proposal in the Maltese Parliament Scrutiny Committee’s Working Group on October 11, 2009.

The other side of the coin is the unsustainable of it all as any resident in Malta who pays social security contributions is entitled to free medical treatment and consequentially in any EU member state at the expense of the Maltese government if the treatment required is not currently possible or available within a reasonable time.

Two years ago I had stated: “Persons who had full private insurance should be given tax incentives not to use Mater Dei Hospital when medically possible so that there would be more room for needy people who even if unable to pay still have to make use of private clinics and hospitals to make appointments with most state hospital consultants.” (The Times, July 13, 2009).

There is no doubt here that a diabetic with complications requiring the urgent transplant of two vital organs, incurring costs of €74,241, requires state assistance irrespective of his financial situation. The same applies to any acute emergency or serious condition requiring the priceless excellence only Mater Dei and Boffa hospitals can provide.

Unlike the Labour opposition which lambasted outgoing Central Bank governor Michael Bonello for advocating means testing, I believe he was spot on last November in stating: “The priority of the welfare state should be to provide equal opportunities for all, but a safety net only for those who need it most. Universality – dispensing free goods and services to all irrespective of income – is a wasteful and unaffordable principle… The social welfare system, including health care, has long been identified, including by the European Commission and the IMF, as offering the greatest potential for savings.”

NSO’s press release on Government Finance Data for January-May 2011 issued late in the week (June 24) shows a decline of €4.3 million in recurrent expenditure driven by the reduction of social security benefits by €13.6 million and notwithstanding the increase in medicines and surgical materials (+€ 3.4 million). Earlier on that week, I highlighted the Housing Authority’s recession-induced decline, means tested repair schemes and lift installations respectively down 60 per cent (from 400 per annum) and 85 per cent (from 30 blocks annually) as compared to prior to 2008. I immediately found the right opportunity to reiterate what I had said in the Nationalist Party General Council earlier – the PN is under the impression that universality that took over our social policy is politically convenient but in truth it is not letting us be effective Christian politicians, alienating us from the needy and those badly affected by the economic downturn which we at times flatter ourselves in saying was virtual. And this has no doubt helped the Labour Party take a well-calculated risk to strategically move to the right.