Business Aspects of SNS

A few days ago, I wrote that the SNS should be a national health system involving public and private actors, rather than the National Health Service (SNS) that focuses only on the use of public entities. Therefore, there is no political fundamentalism.

In one article, I wrote: “The private healthcare system is not the enemy of the NHS. We have been experiencing this public-private relationship for years because the public does not do everything and the private is for the private, such as diagnosis through clinical analysis, imaging, cardiology, or in the case of treatment, physiotherapy. So if this is the case, why not think globally and go further?”

Yes, with our own vouchers, commonly known as P1, we can get certain tests or treatments at private units (UP) approved by the state. This has been the case for decades.
More and more UPs (i.e. hospitals) have also signed agreements with health insurance companies (SS) and their business basically depends on this. This is the real business part of it, despite this, SNS is still a great business agreement because most importantly, it attracts people.

However, in this whole panorama there is one very important and serious fact – the price. The price that the SNS and SS pay to the UP for examinations and treatments is the price that the entity pays to health professionals. Now, 50% of 30 euros is not the same as 50% of 75%.

Having said that, after explaining the issue of the trade agreement with UP, let me share a conversation I had at the Northern Hospital a few days ago.

European Union: Good morning, I am going to have an abdominal ultrasound via the NHS and I have my certificate with me.

Receptionist：Good morning. According to SNS, we have no agenda this year.

European Union: Already! No! It is no longer available this year? How is this possible?

Receptionist: That’s the agenda. I don’t know. There are no openings this year, but if you want to do it privately or with insurance, that’s fine. Do you have insurance?
European Union: I’m sorry, I don’t understand. You don’t have a doctor who can treat you through the NHS, but you do have a doctor who can treat you through a private doctor or insurance?

Receptionist: That’s it, yeah, do you want to score?

Ready!

Only to come to a conclusion that is clearly not pretty or easy, but more than anything, this episode shows just how far the National Health System drags its feet on moral and materialistic misery.