Does everyone need a hospital next door? During election season, they might get one. While trying to enforce major systemic cutbacks, regional governments are ignoring budget restrictions in order to build 15 new hospitals before regional elections.
Another 60 public and private healthcare centers are in progress, even in regions such as Valencia, Murcia and the Canary Islands where they are not meeting their budget goals. The question is, who is going to pay for these projects? Or better still, who is going to stop approving them? Apart from the financial figures, the national government should reinstate the healthcare model that Spain needs and shift toward a public-private model. Especially when it has been proven that this hybrid model can cut costs and wait times.
