VOA标准英语2012--Survival of Portuguese Health Care Questioned

 

Survival of Portuguese¹ Health Care Questioned

Portuguese citizens have their vices² like anyone else. But if their health deteriorates³, they know, like most Europeans, there is a high quality yet mainly free health care system to look after them.

But big spending cuts were a condition of the country’s recent bailout, and hospitals are cutting salaries and getting rid of staff.

In short, people have to pay more to see the doctor.

Antonio Arnaut, former Minister of Social Affairs, helped set up Portugal’s health service after the fall of the dictatorship in the 1970’s. Now a lawyer in Coimbra, north of Lisbon, he’s angry at the cuts.

"I'm worried about the future of the National Health System, but not because of the economic difficulties that Portugal is now experiencing, my main concerns are about this right wing government," he said. "There’s an ideological⁴ project to destroy the National Health System. The National Health System is a part of the European social model."

Regardless of costs, the Portuguese have benefited greatly from Arnaut’s creation. Forty years ago, 1-in-20 Portuguese children didn’t survive infancy⁵, and now it’s only 1-in-300, and general life expectancy⁶ has increased by 12 years over the same period. But the specter of massive government-spending cuts has thrown this success story in question: What happens when a billion euros get slashed⁷ from a 7.5 billion euro health budget?

Professor Pedro Barros at Nova business school in Lisbon isn’t overly pessimistic. Two-thirds of the savings⁸, he said, will be achieved by reducing drug prices and cutting staff wages, limiting the impact on services. Significant change, he said, will come in other forms.

"I think that people want a health service the way it is: Funded by government and mostly free at the point of use," he said. "The discussion is on how people provide healthcare, whether it is going to be the private parties to provide it, including the non-profits."

Not only have private health care providers already started running hospitals on behalf of the Portuguese government, the country has a thriving private health sector⁹.

The Malo Clinic in Lisbon is one the world's largest center in implantology and dental aesthetics¹⁰. Dental care is not covered by the state, and the clinic's boss, Paolo Malo, said Portugal's financial difficulties mean more people should pay.

“We should not have universal healthcare that gives care to anybody that comes to a public hospital. Only the people in need or below a certain income should benefit from this," he said. "That change will happen. It’s not a question of if you like it or not like it -- that will happen.”

Malo may have expanded his business all over the world, but Portugal’s overall economy is in its worst recession since the 1970’s.

If the country has to continue cutting government spending for years to come, perhaps a system almost all of the country still holds dear will have to be slimmed down. 

1 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

2 vices   

缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳

参考例句：

• In spite of his vices, he was loved by all. 尽管他有缺点，还是受到大家的爱戴。
• He vituperated from the pulpit the vices of the court. 他在教堂的讲坛上责骂宫廷的罪恶。

3 deteriorates   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• After a few years' planting, the quality of the potato crop deteriorates. 土豆种了几年之后就会退化。
• Virus activity deteriorates in plasma stored at room temperature. 在室温下储藏的血浆中病毒活动逐渐衰退。

4 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

5 infancy   

n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期

参考例句：

• He came to England in his infancy.他幼年时期来到英国。
• Their research is only in its infancy.他们的研究处于初级阶段。

6 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

7 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

9 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

10 aesthetics   

n.(尤指艺术方面之)美学，审美学

参考例句：

• Sometimes, of course, our markings may be simply a matter of aesthetics. 当然，有时我们的标点符号也许只是个审美的问题。 来自名作英译部分
• The field of aesthetics presents an especially difficult problem to the historian. 美学领域向历史学家提出了一个格外困难的问题。