Healthcare cuts in progress, extraordinary meeting of the Regions

The discontent of the Regions regarding healthcare resources has not abated. The topic will be at the center of the table convened by the Conference of Regions and Autonomous Provinces tomorrow. We need "more resources and an end to constraints on personnel" is the political message that comes from the governors with the 'Programmatic Document' in view of the parliamentary process.

But in the meantime, the discussion on the financing of the National Health Service fuels the debate, after the declarations of the Lombardy Welfare Councilor, Guido Bertolaso, on the cuts envisaged by the budget. Faced with criticism made in recent days by unions and businesses, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni defends "the Government's commitment, since its inauguration, to strengthen the National Health Service". "Since the beginning of the legislature - added the Prime Minister - the resources for the Health Fund have grown and have reached a level never reached in the past. The new Budget law confirms this trend and has provided for the allocation of further resources, which will allow it to reach 146.3 billion in 2027". However, it is not enough for the Regions, who had asked for 18 more billions in three years.

What sparked the debate, however, are Bertolaso's recent words, according to which in the maneuver "the cuts envisaged for healthcare are truly unsustainable for all the Regions and for us too". The estimate for Lombardy alone is "almost half a billion and this means not being able to complete the work on the waiting lists". Statements to which the president of the Finance Committee of the Chamber, Marco Osnato (FdI), replies sarcastically: "Bertolaso ​​is very good at managing emergencies. And therefore he always looks for an emergency to find an additional role to the one he already has". Other center-right regional presidents do not expose themselves, with the exception of the governor of Liguria, Marco Bucci, who sees the glass half full: "Every extra euro they give us for healthcare is good. But I think that 7 billion in three years is better than zero".

Instead, the centre-left regions are complaining about the cuts. According to Il Fatto Quotidiano, they would amount to approximately 220 million euros for Puglia and 426 for Emilia Romagna. Based on the data put in black and white by the latter to cover the single item relating to the increase in inflation, a total request of 3.48 billion was put forward by all the Regions, but the text provides for 138 million, 4%.

"We had asked, together with all the regional presidents and Minister Schillaci - explains the president of Emilia-Romagna, Michele de Pascale - to adjust the allocation and instead there will be a huge cut. There is not even coverage of the costs of inflation, not to mention the surge in energy costs and the huge bills that weigh on hospitals". The answer comes from the Undersecretary of Health, Marcello Gemmato: "Saying that there have been cuts seems ungenerous compared to a government that continues to invest heavily in financing the Health Fund".