The Public Health Agency passes its first test in Congress with no support from the PP, Vox, and Junts.

The Health Commission of the Spanish Congress has approved, in its second attempt, the draft Law for the creation of the State Agency for Public Health. The regulation, which will continue its process in the Senate, was passed with a close vote of 19 in favor and 18 against.

The groups that voted against the new text, amended from the previous version, include the same parties that rejected it when it was debated in the Congress Plenary last March: PP (People’s Party), Junts, and Vox.

The approved text has incorporated several amendments, including one to exempt reference pricing for drugs that provide a strategic advantage to the National Health System (SNS) or represent an objective improvement for patients, or introducing a corrective coefficient to raise their price.

Additionally, a transactional amendment was added to revise and modify Royal Decree 666/2023 so that clinical veterinarians can dispense fractional treatments. It was also agreed that, in September, a subcommittee would be formed within the Health Commission to discuss the veterinary profession’s recognition as healthcare professionals, stated ERC deputy, Etna Estrems.

“This is the second round to approve the law, and I hope it will be final, ” stated Carmen Martínez from the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party). She defended that the “agency must be an element of coordination in the face of the crises that are sure to come” and added, “We have tried to ensure that the project has the greatest consensus possible until the last moment. We have included incremental innovation, which is very important, and we have also opened the door to veterinarians.”

Criticism of the Government

The debate included numerous references to the current situation surrounding the Government due to “alleged corruption cases,” as noted by the commission’s president, Agustín Santos, at the end of the session.

“After hearing what we have had to hear these days in this Chamber and the Plenary, things we would not want to listen to, it is a privilege to be able to talk about health and a global health law,” noted Alda Recas from Sumar.

Elvira Velasco from the Popular Group called out the “biggest crisis” caused by “an untrustworthy Government,” and after urging for the call for general elections, she pointed at the coalition partners supporting Pedro Sánchez’s Executive, stating, “they have gone from being partners to being accomplices.” Velasco criticized that after the COVID pandemic, “there is not a single report on the Government’s management,” questioning, “What credibility does the agency have in the current landscape?”

Regarding the voted bill, she reiterated that it lacks funding, which she warned could lead to problematic outcomes, citing the ELA Law that still lacks a budget supply. Velasco, however, appreciated that the text included an amendment regarding the appointment of the director of the future agency, highlighting that it will adhere to principles of equality, merit, and capacity, indirectly referencing Fernando Simón, director of CCAES, whom she labeled as “the spokesperson for the Government’s lies” during the pandemic.

Aside from the funding concerns, Velasco advocated for the agency to have a stable workforce and be led by “a person of prestige.” Being aware of the text’s impending approval, the PP spokesperson remarked, “We will improve the text in the Senate.”

From Vox, David García preemptively declared their stance before the vote: “We will not support any law from a government rotten to the bone.” García criticized that the Public Health Agency “is born flawed from the beginning and with the objective completely distorted.” He concluded by saying, “The Ministry of Health will lack coordination capacity; it will have to ask for permission.”