International Health Co-operative Organisation

A sectoral organisation of the ICA

www.ica.coop/ihco

The Östersund Document)

Let’s find new paths together!

1. The misuse of public procurement rules threaten to hamper innovative health care initiatives

We, co-operative organisations gathered in Östersund May 22-23, 2007, hereby wish to express our profound desire to participate in the development of health care in our countries. At the same time, we wish to express our concern that misinterpretation of procurement rules, historical differences and political rigidity risk to lead to an impoverishment of public health care, and might eventually even lead to an outright oligopoly in this important social sector.

After having exchanged experiences from co-operative health care in various countries, we feel that it is today more important than ever to find new forms of joint efforts between the national healthcare systems and other operators, in order to develop and improve a general and just system for medical attention and health care in our countries. An evaluation, soon to be published in Sweden, shows that minor actors define some principal obstacles to their participation in this development:
   • The application of public procurements rules is erroneous
   • The late routines for payment on behalf of public authorities create problems
   • The reluctance to allow several smaller actors to collaborate around joint projects is a disadvantage to smaller operators

By this document we want to appeal to governments, regions and municipalities of our countries to open up to new solutions within the field of health care, and to initiate a constructive dialogue with the third sector in this respect.

Östersund the 22nd of May, 2007

For Medicoop Sweden             For International Co-operative Health
                                    OrganisationPer-Olof Jönsson                      Dr. José Carlos Guisado
President                                  Predsident