Sánchez takes a step to limit privatizations and infuriates Ayuso: "He wants to destroy Madrid's healthcare system"

MadridThe clash of models between the Spanish government and the Community of Madrid shows no signs of slowing. This Tuesday, the Council of Ministers approved a first draft bill on healthcare services that aims to "slam the door," in the words of Health Minister Mónica García, on the publicly funded and privatized model promoted by the People's Party (PP) during José María Aznar's presidency. This draft represents a direct attack on the healthcare system championed by Isabel Díaz Ayuso in the Community of Madrid. The Madrid president was quick to react, accusing the government of "wanting to destroy healthcare" in Madrid and leading it into a "revolution" so that "nothing works."

In this way, Ayuso has defended the need for the Community of Madrid to maintain its model, which, in addition to public healthcare, also includes concessions to private companies. "What should we do? Eliminate the Jiménez Díaz Foundation? Tell patients they are making a mistake when they choose these types of hospitals?" she asked. "It protects and shields the system from the clutches of speculation and privatization," retorted Minister García, who openly stated that she wants to avoid "obscene" cases like Ayuso's concessions to Quirón and Ribera Salud.

According to Ayuso, it's all part of Sánchez's "obsession" to go against her, even though, she said, there are also public-private partnerships in the healthcare sector in other places like Catalonia. In any case, this is an initial proposal from the Spanish government that must go through the entire process to the central government and then to Congress, where Sánchez will depend on the votes of the plurinational majority. He will also depend on the votes of Junts and the PNV, which advocate for public-private partnerships in all areas.

What does the draft bill say?

With the regulations drafted by the Moncloa Palace, the aim is to make public management "preferred" and privatization of services "exceptional" in those areas where public healthcare cannot be provided. "I want to make it clear that this law is not against non-profit models or healthy public-private partnerships. It places limits on models that siphon resources from the public sector to fatten the coffers of certain companies," summarized García, who said that outsourcing will now require reports from [unclear - possibly "audits" or "informal healthcare providers"]. The Spanish government's draft bill consolidates the direct management model as the preferred modality for providing public healthcare and repeals the 1997 law on new forms of healthcare system management approved by Aznar. According to EFE, in the Community of Madrid there are five publicly owned but privately managed hospitals, most of them operated by Quirón: the Jiménez Díaz Foundation (Madrid); the Rey Juan Carlos University Hospital (Móstoles); The Infanta Elena University Hospital (Valdemoro); and the Villalba General University Hospital (Collado Villalba), in addition to the Torrejón hospital, managed by Ribera Salud, which was the subject of controversy because some audio recordings were leaked, published by The CountryIn the case, center officials requested longer waiting lists to increase the company's profits. According to the Spanish government, the proliferation of contracting models has led to fragmentation, a lack of transparency, and reduced institutional oversight.