NOT one regional health authority out of Spain's 17 has applied the new rules about charging for drugs provided by hospital dispensaries which came into force six months ago.
In some cases, this is through a conscientious objection – particularly in socialist-governed regions where the party's leader has slammed the move as forcing the chronically-ill to 'pay up or die'.
But in other cases, this is because the cost of implementing the systems would far outweigh the money clawed back through charging for these drugs.
And those regions where their governments are in favour – including Castilla-La Mancha, run by Mariano Rajoy's second-in-command María Dolores de Cospedal – are waiting for others to be the first to apply the rules.
Catalunya, the Basque Country, the Canary Islands, Andalucía and Castilla y León have all presented appeals against the charges, and although Navarra has not, it has expressed its condemnation of the move.
All these regions say forcing patients to pay could put the lives and health of those affected in serious danger, and that it is an 'unfair' practice which breaks with the principle of healthcare being a universal right.
The drugs affected are those dispensed in hospital pharmacies since, due to their expense and the danger of those who do not need them getting hold of them, they are not available at high-street chemist shops.
They include injections, pills and patches for patients with HIV or AIDS, cancer in active treatment, rheumatoid arthritis, cataracts or glaucoma, hepatitis, or women undergoing fertility treatment.
Patients are expected to pay 10 per cent of the cost up to a maximum of 4.20 euros per box, but with many of these conditions requiring several different types of drug and high doses, this can add up and reach as much as 42 or even 84 euros a month – prohibitive for those on extended unemployment assistance of 426 euros monthly, or on a very small pension or part-time wage.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com