Activities of Bernadette VERGNAUD related to 2010/2089(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Reducing health inequalities (short presentation)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on reducing health inequalities in the EU
Amendments (12)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Emphasises the need for a coordinated approach across numerous policy areas to address the underlying socio-economic and geographical causes of health inequalities;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that health inequalities in the EU represent a substantial burden to Member States and their healthcare systems and that the effective functioning of the internal market and strong and if possible coordinated public policies on prevention can contribute to improvements in this field;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Encourages Member States to develop partnerships in border regions in order to share costs of infrastructure and personnel, while limiting spatial inequalities with regard to health, particularly for equal access to state-of- the-art equipment;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Stresses that, due to ageing of the population, local social and medical services are needed, and calls on Member States to support such services throughout their territory;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses that within the internal market the accessibility and affordability of pharmaceutical treatments should be consideared a key aspect of health inequality, second only to access to diagnosis, and, in this regard, calls on Member States to ensure that the Transparency Directive (89/105/EEC) is being properly implemented;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Encourages Member States to increase the use of quality generic medicines, to negotiate as best possible, if appropriate in cooperation between States, the prices of medicines so as to enable the most disadvantaged groups to gain access to quality treatments;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Considers that the distribution of medicines by qualified healthcare professionals at pharmacies is an essential component of the proper functioning of health systems and ensures that patients receive quality information, particularly in the case of the weakest and least well-informed user groups;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. RecognisesConsiders that the implementation of the Cross-Border Healthcare Directive 2008/0142 (COD) as a potentially useful tool for addressing health inequalitiesshould be followed by precise impact assessments in order to measure as effectively as possible its consequences – beneficial or otherwise – in combating health inequalities, particularly in terms of the geographical allocation of medical resources, both human and material;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Regrets that the directive on cross- border health care was not accompanied by a legislative proposal on the mobility of healthcare professionals, taking into account the risk of a ‘brain drain’ within the EU, which would dangerously increase the geographical inequalities in certain Member States, and calls on the Commission to remedy it, possibly in the context of the future revision of the directive on professional qualifications (2005/36/EC);
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Urges Members States to fully implement theStresses that the existing Professional Qualifications Directive (2005/36/EC) and invites the Commissionis not always tailored to further consider whether to make use of the IMI System, and whether an alert mechanism similar to that in opemplexity of medical qualifications in the EU and invites the Commission, in collaboration forwith the Services Directive (2006/123/EC) could be incorporated for the professionscompetent authorities, to continue to develop the IMI System, perhaps by means of an appropriate alert mechanism;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Argues that open, competitive and well functioning markets may stimulate innovation, investment and research in the healthcare sector and may help in identifying effective healthcare models, but that this must be accompanied by strong financial support for public research in order to guarantee effective healthcare models which can benefit all without any conditions as to resources and while taking the ageing of the population into account;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 – introductory part
Paragraph 8 – introductory part
8. Takes note that the work already done in the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, in regards to product safety and advertising, among others, has helped to address certain aspects of health inequality in the EU, and in this context stresses the importance of strictly monitoring the information which pharmaceutical firms provide to patients, particularly the most vulnerable and least well informed groups, and the need for an effective and independent system of pharmacovigilance.