HEALTH PARLIAMENT

In partnership with Janssen, Microsoft and Universidade Nova Lisbon, Expresso created the first parliament in Portugal entirely dedicated to health issues.

Health Parliament selects 60 parliamentarians between the age of 21 and 40 to debate and make recommendations for the improvement of the health system.

After an initial recruitment period, those selected were placed on one of six committees to address a specific topic related to the health sector: Innovation and value in health; Sustainability and equity; Oncology, Technology and care integration; Human resources in health; and Mental health. Each committee features an advisory board composed of a deputy, a former governor, a president or vice-president of a health-related entity and someone connected to the private or social sector.

Work began in January 2020, comprising four plenary sessions, field visits and interviews to generate recommendations, in accordance with the (up to) six sub-topics each committee can put forward.

The first edition of Health Parliament Portugal took place in 2017 and resulted in the submission of 58 recommendations and six reports, in addition to monthly meetings held with the Ministry of Health. The specific measures obtained and accepted by the government included an emphasis on simplified access to healthcare reimbursement for pensioners.

The project can be followed on the initiative website, on the Expresso website and the Impresa group´s social networks.