Jean-Christophe Bott / EPA
A new research indicates that the base wages of health professionals could increase 17% if the state was able to control costs in cartel negotiations.
A study by consultant Lisbon Economics reveals that health cartels caused losses to the Portuguese State of 1500 million euros between 2003 and 2023. However, the actual impact could be ten times higher, reaching 15 billion euros, as it only 10% of infractions are detected. The study, by economist Abel Moreira Mateus, will be presented at the Health XXI Forum in Estoril.
The investigation points out that the cartels in the negotiation for the acquisition of goods and services were the most harmful, causing losses of 1179 million euros. In addition, public tender cartels resulted in damage of 217 million euros, while dominant abuses totaled 71 million euros. According to study calculations, if these damage were avoided, the basic salaries of NHS professionals could be increased by up to 17%.
The lack of competition in the health sector is one of the main factors for the accelerated growth of public expenses in the area. The study indicates that between 2016 and 2019, Portugal climbed ten seats in the OECD ranking In terms of weight of health expense in GDP.
Abel Mateus, who has already chaired the Competition Authority (ADC), stresses that it is up to the state to adopt better acquisition methods to prevent cartel formation. “The state cannot negotiate with company associationsas you did with the laboratories [para os testes de covid-19 e análises clínicas]and as happened with the case of providing services to ADSE by private hospitals, ”says the study author to.
The economist highlights Aida a specific case of 2005, when a cartel in the supply of products for diabetics was reported by the Coimbra Hospital Center.
To combat this problem, Matthew suggests that the state Promote competition Between hospitals and laboratories, avoid collective bargaining and use your market power for better prices and quality
“The institutions themselves in charge of these purchases have to be reinforced in terms of human capacity and computer equipment, which would allow greatly improve these processes”, He argues.
The economist also proposes the creation of an independent organism, in the line of existing systems in France and the US, to monitor hospital costs and ensure transparency.
