HEALTH CARE AND THE EUROPEAN PILLAR OF SOCIAL RIGHTS

A REAL CHANGE OR EVERYTHING REMAINS THE SAME?

Abstract

The European Pillar of Social Rights guarantees the right to timely access the affordable health care of good quality to everyone in the European Union. The European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan sets the activities the Commission will undertake in the protection of the said right. The most concrete measure envisaged relates to the issue of health data, while the activities related to access, including the problem of enormous inequalities of access within the EU, are mainly limited to measuring the current situation, in addition to generally supporting and encouraging national health care policies. An activity which the Commission can undertake, and thus make a real difference, in order to tackle the problem of inequalities of access to health care in the EU (not envisaged by the Action Plan) is joint procurement of medicines, especially the ones which are extremely expensive and represent a heavy financial burden for the national health budgets. That would include an enactment of a sectoral legal framework for medicines, based on TFEU art 114. in order to harmonise market conditions, with the  coordination conducted by the Commission acting jointly with the Member States. In this way, the negotiating position of national health authorities would be strengthened, which may lead to harmonisation and facilitation of access to extremely expensive medicines for patients from all the EU  member States.