The Pact for Health 2014-2016 of 29 articles is closed and the agreement is found between ministries and Regions. The agreement was signed yesterday afternoon and announced by the Minister of Health Beatrice Lorenzin who spoke of the possibility of easing the constraints of turnover and not only for the "virtuous" regions. Until the end there was suspense: some regional governors with Veneto in the lead Luca Zaia they put pressure on the government's "weakened" junta president of his health care in the event of a deficit to be able to contribute to the appointment of the ad acta commissioner who will no longer be able to identify himself with a junta member. In reality, the answer to this instance does not seem satisfied in black and white. Meanwhile, not only in the regions but also in local health authorities and hospitals, general managers will have to have a curriculum with "strong" standard requirements.
Savings goal – The pact focuses heavily on the selection of managers, attention to spending constraints, the need to review the exemptions from co-payments within the year on the basis of income and not mainly of the disease, the commitment to review the essential levels of assistance by trying to save money without cutting services to citizens. A revision of the Pharmaceutical Handbook is also envisaged: reference prices calibrated on homogeneous therapeutic categories arrive for drugs charged to the NHS; on the other hand, the authorization of a drug will correspond to its reimbursement which will have to start simultaneously in the 20 regions.
The risks – The minister confirmed that the savings from any rationalizations will remain with the healthcare system, but the Minister of the Economy had a clause inserted at the end according to which the agreement established on the healthcare fund -337 billion euros over 3 years – could be subject to revision in the event of changes in the macroeconomic framework or in relation to the achievement of public finance objectives.
