Welcome HC conference 25112011

Member States have to balance their commitment to ensuring universal protection in health care with increasing expenditure spurred by population ageing, technological development and growing patient expectations. At the same time, the financial and economic crisis has led to a strong deterioration in fiscal positions in most EU countries, imposing significant budgetary constraints in public spending upon them. This situation has increased the scale of urgency to improving the performance of health systems, also by strengthening cost-effectiveness in healthcare provision.

Whilst recognizing the value of good health and the importance of well-functioning health systems for economic productivity and social cohesion, the EU Council is calling for an increased monitoring and measurement of health systems performance and for smart and responsible innovation - including social and organizational innovation - to ensure universal access and equity in health under less favorable budgetary conditions.

To address these issues, EU health ministers have recently agreed to set up a reflection process under the auspices of the senior Working Party on Public Health in order to direct reforms towards modern, responsive and sustainable health systems.

This policy seminar will feed into this debate by exploring countries’ experience in modernizing their health systems and improving their performance in a context of increased budgetary constraints. Aim of this meeting will be to explore commonalities and divergence in health system reforms and identify best practices in improving performance through purchasing and provision of health care.