What are your priorities and action plan for this year?
This year, at ASPE we have set ourselves the priority of contributing to the sustainability of the healthcare system as a whole, from an integrative and national perspective.
The entire healthcare system in Spain is experiencing structural tension that has worsened in recent years. Waiting lists, a shortage of professionals and the difficulty of the public system in absorbing all the demand have highlighted an undeniable reality: today, more than ever, it is necessary to have all available resources at our disposal.
Spain cannot afford to do without any of its healthcare resources, and private healthcare is an essential pillar for guaranteeing access, quality and continuity of healthcare.
Our action plan is structured around several axes. Firstly, to strengthen the institutional and social recognition of private healthcare as a structural part of the National Health System, moving towards public-private collaboration based on technical criteria that are assessable and always patient-oriented.
Secondly, placing the issue of healthcare professionals at the centre of the debate, promoting realistic and applicable measures for planning, attracting and retaining talent. And, at the same time, defending models that have proven their efficiency, such as administrative mutualism, updating them so that they remain sustainable for both the Administration and providers.
All of this must be accompanied by constant dialogue with administrations, parliamentary groups and European actors, from a constructive, rigorous and data-driven position.
What are the main challenges facing ASPE in consolidating the position of the private sector in Spain?
We are facing an increasingly complex regulatory environment, with regulatory initiatives that sometimes fail to take into account the reality of healthcare provision or the availability of professionals. Added to this is an underutilisation of public-private partnership mechanisms, which is more a response to ideological approaches than to a real analysis of efficiency or health outcomes.
Our main challenge is to show that private healthcare in Spain does not act as an alternative system, but as a complementary pillar of the National Health System.
Its contribution is tangible and measurable: more than 41% of surgical procedures performed in Spain are carried out in private centres, around 30% of hospital emergencies are treated in these hospitals, and nearly 25% of hospital consultations also take place in the private sector.
These figures reflect a daily healthcare reality that sustains the system as a whole and should be recognised in strategic healthcare planning.
How would you describe the role of private hospitalisation in Spain?
Private hospitalisation now occupies a central and strategic place in the Spanish healthcare system.
It is not a parallel or substitute system, but rather a complementary one that is deeply interconnected with the public system.
Private hospitals offer flexibility, responsiveness and a high degree of specialisation, and are key to absorbing the demand for care that the public system alone cannot meet at certain times.
In addition, private healthcare is a driver of innovation, teaching and research: it participates in around 50% of clinical trials carried out in Spain and has university hospitals that are fully integrated into the training of professionals. All this with a very significant economic and employment contribution to the country. Recognising this role is not a matter of ideology, but of responsibility to patients and the future sustainability of the system.
How do you view ASPE’s participation in the EUHP and how can the European association contribute to the challenges facing Spanish private hospitals?
ASPE’s participation in the UEHP is strategic and increasingly necessary. Many of the challenges facing Spanish private hospitals—shortages of professionals, regulatory pressure, economic sustainability, digital transformation—are common to the rest of Europe and require a coordinated response at the EU level.
The UEHP plays a key role as a forum for the exchange of best practices, the generation of evidence and dialogue with European institutions. For ASPE, being an active member of this association allows us to align positions, anticipate regulatory trends and bring the reality of the Spanish model to the European debate. At the same time, Europe needs to know about and value models that work, such as the Spanish model, where private healthcare plays a very important role in terms of care, economics and society. In this sense, the UEHP can be a fundamental lever for strengthening the recognition of private hospitals as essential players in European healthcare systems.
