The impacts of European Union Law on the healthcare sector: The impacts of European Union Law on the healthcare sector

The impacts of European Union Law on the healthcare sector:

• The impacts of European Union Law on the healthcare sector:

• Paper I – Institutional overview

• Tamara Hervey, Jean Monnet Professor of European Union Law, University of Sheffield ([e-mail])

Introduction

• Introduction

• EU Law

• EU law making and the competence of the EU
• The structure of EU law
• Supremacy of EU law
• Enforceability of EU law
• Policy responses/EU added value

• Conclusions

What is special about EU law?

• What is special about EU law?

• What challenges and opportunities for those in the healthcare sector therefore arise?

• What kinds of questions should those involved in managing the healthcare sector therefore be asking themselves?

Free movement law

• Free movement law

• Prohibits restrictions on movement of goods, services, persons
• Exceptions where justified

• Competition law

• Prohibits cartels and monopolies
• Exceptions for public services

Law and policy that softens internal market/competition law

• Law and policy that softens internal market/competition law

• Employment law
• Consumer protection law
• Environmental law
• Public health law …

• national law that contradicts EU law must be ‘disapplied’

Individual rights in EU law

• Individual rights in EU law

• Enforceable before (ordinary) national courts

• ‘Direct effect’

• Applies to enforce EU law against ‘public’ bodies

‘Framework Programmes’

• ‘Framework Programmes’

• Public health programme

• Best practice

Life expectancy at birth (years) for males ranges from 65 (Latvia, Lithuania) to 79 (Sweden), a gap of 14 years

• Life expectancy at birth (years) for males ranges from 65 (Latvia, Lithuania) to 79 (Sweden), a gap of 14 years

• Life expectancy at birth (years) for females ranges from 76 (Bulgaria, Latvia, Romania) to 84 (France, Italy, Spain), a gap of 8 years

Logic and structures of EU law ≠logic and structures of healthcare

• Logic and structures of EU law ≠logic and structures of healthcare

• EU law-making institutions may be unaware of healthcare concerns

• The special nature of EU law

• Can have challenging effects for national healthcare systems

• Benefits and opportunities