The catastrophe in Italy’s most affluent region was in part a consequence of having entrusted much of the public health care system to private, profit-making companies while failing to coordinate their services. “If you consider profit to be the endgame of health care instead of health, some people are going to be left out,” Lepora said. Yet in Lombardy, the hardest-hit region, the pandemic has revealed the pitfalls of a poorly executed push to open the system to private providers. He championed legislation that allowed private providers to serve patients while collecting payment from the taxpayer-financed regional health care system. With the best medical minds focused on advanced treatments, Lombardy’s capacity to provide basic medical care and safeguard public health gradually deteriorated.

Source: bd News24 November 21, 2020 06:11 UTC