The Nation's Health

 There’s the story to frighten the sick and the elderly – the one about the free social health system being wound up in favour of a capital-friendly insurance-run arrangement like they have in the USA.

The scary story from America goes something like ‘A new study from academic researchers found that 66.5 percent of all bankruptcies were tied to medical issues —either because of high costs for care or time out of work. An estimated 530,000 families turn to bankruptcy each year because of medical issues and bills’.

Here in Europe, at least, whatever treatment you get will be (could be) available for free. You might prefer a private doctor, and avoid a long wait, and have a comfy private room, but the national health is available for one and all.

Sort of.

In Europe, we love our national health service. Indeed, the cynical Brexiteers even won their rebellion on the back of a message painted on a red bus. No one wants to lose their free health cover, even as the lobbyists are agitating for profit-run health solutions – for those who can pay for it.

Most of us in Spain have a health card (a treasured thing as one gets older) and we hope that it will continue to work, and that there will be someone to attend to us at the local consulta, the health centre.

But the vultures are circling.

‘A storm is devastating the public health system in Europe and in Spain. Economic interests are eating away at it against the evidence about its importance for the population’ says a Spanish editorial adding, ‘Powerful business groups intend to manage with business criteria what is one of the pillars of world stability: universal health care for the entire population’. Well, money talks; and politicians listen.

Already some regions of Spain are budgeting less per inhabitant on public health issues than others, with Andalucía spending the least (1,546€ per person per year) against the Basque Country’s 2,012€.

Indeed, both Madrid and Andalucía have recently seen major protests over the drop in standards in the regional health services and a collapse in primary health. How long will we have to wait for an appointment… or for an operation?

Conservative lobbyists are always hard at work trying to persuade politicians to adopt some (inevitably capitalist) policy. However, facing their baleful influence is the most powerful lobby of all: the voter.