Co-payments in health care systems must implemented wisely, stressed Prof. Núria Mas. In her opinon, co-payments should not lead to tax revenue increases, but decreases, she said. And the best model is the one that takes into account income and vulnerability of the patient. Prof. Mas' comments came during the presentation of the study, "Copayment Systems of Europe, the U.S. and Canada: Implications for Spain."
Data indicates that "co-payments do not affect the overall health of the population," and she defended systems that discriminate according to the patient's income and illness. And co-payments should be applied to urgent services, since the frequent utilization of emergency services spurs higher global health care costs, she said.
Nevertheless, Mas says co-payments will only have a short-term effect, and that the Spanish health system requires far-reaching reforms to adapt to society's current needs, especially in view of an aging population with widespread chronic illnesses.
Prof. Pedro Nueno agreed that co-payments would be a band-aid on problems currently facing the health care financing system in Spain and noted that all health care systems around the world today face similar problems.
18th Meeting of the Healthcare Industry
Next week marks the start of the 18th Meeting of the Healthcare Industry on IESE's campus in Barcelona, led by Professors Núria Mas, Pedro Nueno and researcher Rosa M. Fité, under the theme, "Toward a Change of Model." Among the speakers will be François Sarkozy, president of Publicis Healthcare; Javier Rafael Bengoa, board member of Salud del País Vaso; Jordi Ramentol, president of Farmaindustria; Boi Ruiz, minister of health for the Autonomous Region of Catalonia and Josep María Piqué, director of Hospital Clínic de Barcelona.
More information in IESE Insight (In Spanish)
More information on the 18th Meeting of the Healthcare Industry
