Gestor bibliográfico Crisis y Salud

In the face of austerity, a series of disconnected “reforms” could, without corrective measures, lead to the effective dismantling of large parts of the Spanish healthcare system, with potentially detrimental effects on health. Helena Legido-Quigley and colleagues explain. The financial crisis has hit Spain hard. Initially, given its low government debt, Spain seemed safe, but it was forced to bail out its banks when the housing boom they had been fuelling finally collapsed.1 In the first quarter of 2013, 27% of the labour force were unemployed,2 including over 57% of the under 25s. Poverty has increased. Twenty one per cent of the Spanish population lived below the poverty line in 2012, on less than €7354 (£5980; $9599) annually.3 In June 2012 the Spanish government negotiated a €100bn intervention with the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) to support the banks. In 2012, the general government deficit reached 8.1% of GDP,4 against a target of 5.3%, and its debt rose from 26.7% of GDP in 2007 to 93.8% in 2012.5