rec_40

(40) According to the constant case-law of the Court of Justice, Member States may make the assumption of costs by the national system of hospital care provided in another Member State subject to prior authorisation. The Court of Justice has judged that this requirement is both necessary and reasonable, since the number of hospitals, their geographical distribution, the way in which they are organised and the facilities with which they are equipped, and even the nature of the medical services which they are able to offer, are all matters for which planning, generally designed to satisfy various needs, must be possible. The Court of Justice has found that such planning seeks to ensure that there is sufficient and permanent access to a balanced range of high-quality hospital treatment in the Member State concerned. In addition, it assists in meeting a desire to control costs and to prevent, as far as possible, any wastage of financial, technical and human resources. According to the Court of Justice, such wastage would be all the more damaging because it is generally recognised that the hospital care sector generates considerable costs and must satisfy increasing needs, while the financial resources made available for healthcare are not unlimited, whatever mode of funding is applied.

1 national measure recorded under this provision, in 1 form — sign in to view the analysis.

← rec_39 · All articles · rec_41 →

Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-11 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.