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Bill: Health 2537
Details
Submitted by[?]: Trabajo y Libertad
Status[?]: defeated
Votes: This is an ordinary bill. It requires more yes votes than no votes. This bill will not pass any sooner than the deadline.
Voting deadline: December 2539
Description[?]:
| Government duty to protect and preserve the population's health. |
Proposals
Article 1
Proposal[?] to change Government policy on subsidising contraception.
Old value:: The government does not supply free or discounted contraceptives.
Current: The government does not supply free or discounted contraceptives.
Proposed: The government offers free contraceptives in pharmacies and public toilets.
Article 2
Proposal[?] to change The research and development of pharmaceutical drugs.
Old value:: The government neither subsidizes research and development of drugs nor regulates their prices.
Current: The government subsidizes research and development of prescription drugs and regulates their prices.
Proposed: The government subsidizes research and development of prescription drugs and regulates their prices.
Article 3
Proposal[?] to change Food safety policy.
Old value:: Local governments determine food safety standards.
Current: The government introduces, and actively enforces, food standards provisions.
Proposed: The government introduces, and actively enforces, food standards provisions.
Article 4
Proposal[?] to change Licensing of food sales.
Old value:: The licensing of food sale is left for local governments to decide.
Current: Food may be sold by licensed vendors only, and shelf lives of foods are enforced.
Proposed: Anyone may sell food, but shelf lives of foods are enforced.
Article 5
Proposal[?] to change Health care policy.
Old value:: Health care is private, but is paid for by the state for people with low incomes.
Current: There is a free public health care system and a small number of private clinics, which are heavily regulated to ensure they treat their patients well and provide good care.
Proposed: There is a free public health care system and a small number of private clinics, which are heavily regulated to ensure they treat their patients well and provide good care.
Article 6
Proposal[?] to change Health and safety legislation for industry.
Old value:: Health and safety laws are to be determined by local governments.
Current: The government introduces and actively regulates health and safety legislation in all areas of industry.
Proposed: The government introduces and actively regulates health and safety legislation in all areas of industry.
Article 7
Proposal[?] to change Pharmaceutical drugs policy.
Old value:: The government subsidises the cost of pharmaceutical drugs for people on low incomes.
Current: The government pays partially for all citizens' pharmaceutical drugs, and pays entirely for those of low income citizens.
Proposed: The government pays for all citizens' pharmaceutical drugs.
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
| Date | 21:17:44, February 26, 2008 CET | From |  Partido Santanderista | To | Debating the Health 2537 |
| Message | Articles 1,2, 3, 5, 7 we support. Article 4 - the current value we support, the better well off can afford to pay their own health service Article 6 - same as above |
| Date | 23:10:05, February 26, 2008 CET | From | Trabajo y Libertad | To | Debating the Health 2537 |
| Message | The reason to Article 4 is that allowing the rich to pay for their own health service means a two-tier health service will develop, with a high-quality service for the rich and an inferior public service for the poor as superior doctors will be "bought out" by the private services. |
| Date | 01:32:15, February 27, 2008 CET | From | Partido Federalisto | To | Debating the Health 2537 |
| Message | Opposed to all articles. |
| Date | 01:45:57, February 27, 2008 CET | From | Partido Santanderista | To | Debating the Health 2537 |
| Message | The State should make sure that the free health system is not sub-par. It use this competition from the private sector to raise the bar instead of using it as an excuse to have no private sector at all. |
| Date | 10:19:45, February 27, 2008 CET | From | Trabajo y Libertad | To | Debating the Health 2537 |
| Message | The problem is that certain people would use the private service as a matter of snobbery, allowing it to charge excessive fees that the impoverished couldn't afford. This would give it a greater source of funding allowing it to hire the best staff, while those left for the national health service are largely second-rate. Also, unregulated profit-driven healthcare providers will cut corners in order to cut costs, which will endanger their patients. Again the quest for profit will leave many in private healthcare accepting "commission" payments from pharmaceutical companies, etc. should they use a certain amount of their products, meaning private healthcare wil push certain treatments and medications when they are not needed. Finally, the fact the private system is profit-driven means it's customers are not being given a fair deal, private providers will be run by accountants not doctors. |
| Date | 10:41:32, February 29, 2008 CET | From | Trabajo y Libertad | To | Debating the Health 2537 |
| Message | We've switched from proposing only public healthcare to including a small number of regulated private providers. This allows for competition between public and private providers while ensuring standards are met in all. |
| Date | 16:54:35, February 29, 2008 CET | From | Partido Santanderista | To | Debating the Health 2537 |
| Message | Excellent |
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Voting
| Vote | Seats | ||||
| yes | Total Seats: 42 | ||||
| no |
Total Seats: 87 | ||||
| abstain | Total Seats: 8 |
| Random fact: Cabinet ministers who disagree seriously with the head of government would usually be expected to resign. Parties within the cabinet may attempt to manoeuvre to replace the head of government though, for example by proposing a new cabinet bill or voting for an early election. |
| Random quote: "Men are so simple and so much inclined to obey immediate needs that a deceiver will never lack victims for his deceptions." - Niccolo Machiavelli |