This Thursday, Chega asked for an urgent hearing of the Minister of Health in Parliament to provide clarification on the exclusion of Portuguese residents abroad from the National Register of Users of the National Health Service (SNS).
In a request submitted to the Assembly of the Republic, the party led by André Ventura believes that “although the Ministry of Health has already publicly guaranteed that emigrants will continue to have full access to the National Health Service and will not have to pay for the care of doctors, further clarification is needed, to fully understand the implications of the proposed changes.”
For Chegi, the “recent controversy” surrounding the exclusion of Portuguese expats from the social media register “raised legitimate concerns.”
The far-right party is asking for a hearing of Manuel Pizarro in the parliamentary health committee, “expecting specific details of the proposed changes, the process for identifying financially responsible organizations and how the government plans to ensure that Portuguese expats continue to receive SNS care efficiently and without additional costs” .
On Wednesday, the government assured that Portuguese residents abroad will still have “full access” to SNS, saying they will not have to pay for the service.
In a statement, the Ministry of Health explained that changes to the National User Register (RNU) are aimed at ensuring “monitoring by the family health team, namely access to a family doctor for those who need it most.”