“There is an intention to conduct a significant expenditure review exercise in the health sector, for example, in the acquisition of treatments and diagnostic tests. It has also been stated that there is an intention to create a unit to combat fraud in the National Health Service (SNS),” noted Nazaré da Costa Cabral during a parliamentary hearing on the State Budget for 2026 (OE2026).
The goal of this measure is to achieve “savings of 800 million euros,” she remarked.
The President of the Public Finance Council (CFP) acknowledges that “there are indeed inefficiencies and waste in the sector, so it is not solely a matter of lacking financial resources.”
“We need to confront this issue directly and courageously, but it is clear that political decision-makers must be consistent with the measures they announce,” she argued, emphasizing the need to “structurally resolve the problem.”
She further commented that if the outcome results in “savings in the SNS without sacrificing quality or even enhancing the quality of the service provided, it will be positive.”
However, “if this does not happen, we will evidently see a decrease in the quality of service provided, which would be undesirable for the country,” she warned.
