Equal and unrestricted access to affordable health care services – this is a prime objective and a non-negotiable right for all Commission staff and all Joint sickness insurance scheme (JSIS) affiliates irrespective of nationality. Yet this right is increasingly being compromised for the Ispra staff and their families, who are not in possession of the national health insurance card, the tessera sanitaria.
Many of those colleagues cannot choose a family doctor or a reference paediatrician, this together with vaccination monitoring, which is required for registering in any school in Italy, including the European School, is not easily accessible either.
Illnesses or treatments which are not recognised or reimbursed via the JSIS
There are many differences between national systems and the JSIS[1]. Many specific treatments or therapies can normally only be obtained by those who are affiliated directly to the health service in the Member State. Sometimes, even if that therapy can be obtained, it is not reimbursed, when it would be reimbursed for someone in the national system: such as the case of the Parliament colleague who won.
Covid exposed holes in the system
Finally, yet importantly, hundreds of colleagues were struggling during Covid to get vaccinated, even when that was mandatory to be able to go to work, travel abroad or go to a restaurant. Luckily, the pandemic is over, but several years down the line, we are not much closer to overcoming any of the above problems.
We need to have a solution soon. Covid has put in the limelight the inadequacies of the current situation and we cannot wait for another pandemic before a solution will be found.
Realistic solutions?
While some other trade unions and staff associations (OSPs) made us believe that it is sufficient to insist on alleged constitutional rights in the host country, these claims have proven futile. Not a single staff member who was denied a tessera before has received one now.
Generation2004 does not rely on allegations and assumptions. Together with several other trade unions, we have acted and filed a lawsuit, with staff from every origin and category willing to participate, to obtain clarity on constitutional rights and the corresponding legal framework.
The first court hearing is scheduled for mid-November 2024 and Generation 2004 is confident that this lawsuit will bring the desired clarification. In the meantime, Generation 2004 remains committed to inform all the staff impartially – as we have done in the past Q&A(30.08.2022); Q&A update(14.10.2022) – about any proposed solution.
Within the organisation, we have always tackled the issue and its various aspects in a spirit of inclusiveness, mutual understanding and with a commitment to facts and figures. We will continue to stand by this in the future – within our organisation and in the Local Staff Committee.
BREAKING NEWS:
In the LSC plenary of 12 November, DG HR announced that an agreement has been reached with the Italian authorities on giving JSIS affiliates access to the Italian National Health System under terms similar to those agreed on 2 years ago (i.e. with JSIS covering 80-85% of the costs up to the ceiling and the staff having to pay the remainder). As soon as more details are available, Generation 2004 will inform you.
For any other questions, do not hesitate to get in touch or leave a comment below.
If you appreciate our work, please consider becoming a member of Generation 2004
[1] The latest examples we have of incomplete or partial recognition only are with long Covid and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults: colleagues have had to do a huge amount of paperwork to exhaust all possible routes for reimbursement for each prescription.
In some national systems the adaptation of a home to accommodate a disability comes under the umbrella of the health service while at the institutions it’s very different. In the institutions there is a budget available for this but it is not done via the JSIS. Check it out: ‘Non-medical expenses … equipment such as stair lift, or a ramp, software …’. Requests for adapted IT equipment would be dealt with between My IT support and the Medical Service and for furniture also.
