LISBON: Portuguese Health Minister Paulo Macedo has indicated that tax hikes will be necessary to finance increasing healthcare costs.
Speaking to reporters after a recent conference, Macedo said that the Government will need to raise more revenue to meet the increasing costs faced by the national health service, Serviço Nacional de Saúde. He said that the Government needs to consider whether to fund increased healthcare expenditure through tax hikes or to seek alternative sources of funding.
The Health Minister said that he supports the continued use of progressive taxation to fund the healthcare system, with high-income taxpayers paying more. Other possibilities include a new tax on the pharmaceutical industry, he said.
