Healthcare payback, Conflavoro PMI: "Concrete measures are needed to safeguard businesses."

Recognizing the distortions in healthcare payback must translate into concrete measures to prevent businesses in the sector, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, from being forced to close. This is the request of Conflavoro PMI Sanità (Italian Confederation of Healthcare Professionals) following statements by Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti regarding the government's commitment to addressing the annual payments from 2019 onward and to reopening discussions with the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

"Recognition of the distortions in healthcare payback must translate into concrete measures to prevent businesses, especially small and medium-sized ones, from being forced to close," says Gennaro Broya de Lucia, president of Conflavoro PMI Sanità.

The association draws attention to the economic consequences of the mechanism for companies supplying devices and technologies to the National Health Service. "The priority is to prevent the payback from bankrupting Italian companies that have provided essential supplies to the National Health Service. At stake are business continuity, jobs, and the ability to supply hospitals and healthcare facilities," Broya de Lucia emphasizes.

Conflavoro PMI Sanità's position was also reiterated during the hearing on the Public Finance Planning Document. At that hearing, the association recalls, Senators Patuanelli, Pirro, and Mennuni emphasized the need to ensure protections and concrete solutions for small and medium-sized businesses in the sector, which are exposed to the risk of compromising their economic sustainability and operational continuity.

To overcome the payback challenges, Conflavoro outlines two priorities: finding a solution for past payments and eliminating the mechanism for the future. The association also calls for adequate financial coverage, defined responsibilities, and clear timelines, allowing companies to understand the costs associated with supplies already provided and plan their activities.

"SMEs in the sector must be protected with concrete measures, not with delays or partial solutions," the president reiterates. Hence, he calls on the Government to evaluate the association's proposals and include them in the next budget law. "We must intervene to prevent this mechanism from continuing to put businesses at risk. Their protection must be a priority in any credible proposal for the future of the sector," concludes Broya de Lucia.

The debate on healthcare payback therefore remains central to the future of biomedical companies, which are required to guarantee essential supplies to the public system in a context that, according to Conflavoro PMI Sanità, requires sustainable rules and economic certainty.