The Government is moving to unblock the waiting lists in the hospitals with the Council of Ministers concluded on Tuesday 4 June. The heart of the reform that will take shape is a Single national booking centrein which the private affiliated facilities. There are two measures on the table: a light and quickly applicable decree law and a more substantial bill.
The healthcare reform according to the Meloni government
On the agenda of the Council of Ministers is a legislative decree containing “urgent measures for the time reduction from the waiting lists of health services” and the bill on “guarantee measures on health services”. This second measure will include the more operational aspects that require financial coverage. In the intentions of the Executive, some measures should be immediately operational.
National platform for waiting lists
One will be established at Agenas (National Agency for Regional Health Services). National platform for waiting lists. The Platform will receive data from regional waiting list platforms, ensuring interoperability. The guidelines will be issued at a later date through a ministerial decree. The new system will allow you to have a real-time overview nationwideterritory by territory, of the state of waiting lists in public healthcare.
Single regional cup
The creation of a is planned Single regional cup (or infra-regional) in which all the services available from the public and private sectors will be channelled. At the moment the private sector in the regional Cups is either not present or only minimally present.
Squeeze on accredited private individuals
The forfeiture of contracts between accredited private individuals and the National Health Service has been established in the event that the private sector does not include the services in the public Cups. Inclusion in public Cups becomes a fundamental requirement for issuing accreditation.
Obligation to enter the priority class
During the first visit, the doctor will have the obligation to assign the priority class to the patient and to indicate the suspected diagnosis in the request for the visit or tests. The priority class will have direct consequences on the waiting list times.
Doctors' hourly rates
They increase by 20% the hourly rates of doctors, in particular with regard to services that present greater needs for additional services. Expected tax relief with separate taxation at a fixed rate of 15%.
The Regions will be able to allocate additional resources for integrative collective bargaining of doctors, taking particular account of areas where there is a shortage of staff. Then one is expected inconvenience allowance for the most difficult working realities.
Reduction of token holders
Minister Orazio Schillaci has always had the figure of token doctors in his sights, freelance professionals who work in public facilities upon payment of an attendance fee. These figures are used to fill staff gaps, but increase the costs of the National Health Service. To curb the phenomenon of token operators, public hospitals will also be able to hire staff with self-employment contracts and will be able to take advantage of the in-house outpatient specialists for the recovery of waiting lists. There hourly rate for the specialist's performance it is raised to 100 euros.
Annual objectives
The Regions will assign to the general managers of healthcare companies some annual objectives on the reduction of waiting lists. Health directors who do not meet the target will be sanctioned with suspension from the national list for 12 months.
Young doctors
Young doctors will receive assignments of up to 10 hours per week. And even the specialists will be called to reduce the waiting lists.
Exams on the weekend and in the pharmacy
It will also be possible to carry out tests in hospital on Saturdays and Sundays. And it will be possible to perform the simplest services even in the pharmacy, such as swabs or blood tests.
A General Control Inspectorate established
A is established General Inspectorate of Control on healthcare. The Inspectorate reports directly to the Ministry of Health. The objective is to increase the monitoring and control activities of the Siveas (National Health Care Verification and Control System) established in 2005. The Inspectorate will have to carry out checks at healthcare companies and hospitals on the correctness of the functioning of the lists of waiting and on the operational plans for the recovery of the lists.
The reform of the medical test
To complete the picture there is the already announced reform of the first year of Medicine, with the elimination of the entrance test and ongoing selection. The reform of Medicine test will arrive in 2025.
The hub of regional resources
The Regions are worried, as reported Sky TG24is the economic burden resulting from an increase in waiting lists, since healthcare is traditionally the largest portion of regional budgets.
“A polite meeting”, as he defined Monday's meeting Raffaele Doninicouncilor for health of Emilia-Romagna and coordinator of the health commission of the Conference of the Regions “but with some cause for embarrassment for the Regions”.
The reason: “We still don't know what the texts of a possible decree or bill or any coverage are.” And therefore, added Donini, “we would like to contribute to the genesis of the rules, not just make observations when approved”. The government has announced a “privatization theme but we don't know how it would unfold”, he added. Among the guidelines mentioned to the Regions also “a single national Cup”.
Other measures in Cdm
During the meeting, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also gave “an information on the entry flows of foreigners for work reasons”, analyzed a bill on “changes to the discipline of the honorary judiciary of the exhaustion quota”, held the final examination of the bill for “regulatory simplification and improvement of the quality of standardization and delegations to the government for the simplification, reorganization and reorganization in certain matters” and analyzed the legislative decree of “implementation of Directive (EU) 2022/ 431”, which amends Directive 2004/37/EC on the protection of workers against the risks deriving from exposure to carcinogenic or mutagenic agents at work.
