The general hospital on the island of Santorini has allegedly two different price lists for medical examination, lab tests and treatment: one for uninsured Greeks and one for foreigners. The price list for foreigners has also variables, according to the country of origin of the patients. The Greek Federation of Public hospital Workers (POEDIN) has denounced these conditions complaining that the pricing of the health services are overcharged anyway.
According to POEDIN, a Greek uninsured patient was asked to pay to the hospital the total amount of 180 euros, although the government has legislated that uninsured Greeks have to be treated without charge.
Another patient from Bulgaria (also uninsured) had to pay 240 euro for an elbow X-Ray and the application of gyps: €150 gyps, examination €40, X-Ray €50.
“Prices for routine works are ten times higher than those in Greece’s public hospitals,” the Federation said adding that although a public hospital it charges like a private hospital.
The free of charge treatment for uninsured Greeks and national of European Union countries do not apply in Santorini hospital, POEDIN said in a statement, asking whether the hospital in Santorini was private or public. [Note: it is a public hospital].
POEDIN claimed also that uninsured Greeks are charged more “double” than foreigners.
For a general blood test a Greek pays €20 and a foreigner €10, while every public hospital across Greece charges €2,88 whether the patient is Greek or foreigner.
X-rays in Santorini hospital cost 20 to 50 euros, while every other hospital charges 4,30 euro independent from nationality.
According to Proto Thema, “the hospital management denied that the high charges refer to insured or uninsured Greeks. However, it admitted, there was a different price list for foreign patients especially for those from USA and Australia.”
Indeed, in a statement the hospital management said that the prices published by POEDIN do not refer to Greeks but to patients from USA and Australia.” The hospital said further that it treats free of charge every Greeks with a social security number (AMKA) and every EU national holder of an insurance card. For non-EU nationals the hospital implements Law Nr 67 etc etc….” With regards to charging an uninsured Greek, the hospital said the claims “did not correspond the truth.”
POEDIN had published the names of the Greek and the Bulgarian patients and said it had also the receipts for the payments.
BTW: I recently received a complaint about a bar-restaurant in Athens that has also two price lists. For Greeks in Greek and for Foreigners in English. Prices on the English menu are highers -probably due to translation cost…
PS reminds me of Morocco where souvenir prices were set according to your nationality … lol
In Thailand dual pricing is quite blatant. If you want to go to a national park, or zoo, for instance, be prepared to pay more than double the price that Thais will be charged. It applies to just about every state run attraction.
Why do greeks need insurance to health treatment? Why don’t you have a state universal health sistem, paid by the taxes?
@Pedro. Only Scandinavian countries have medical coverage paid from taxes. The European continental pattern was developed by Germany in the late 19th century — compulsory state social insurance — and copied by most of Europe in the 20th century. After 1945, most EU countries developed supplementary systems for long-term unemployed and poor people who are not insured: Greece did not. In fact, the Greek social insurance funds in the last decades have always been more or less bankrupt owing to embezzlement of the funds by politicians and non-payment of employees’ contributions by large state enterprises. Some small insurance funds, favoured by the politicians, are in very good health with high pensions and in the past subsidised from general taxation. The Troika has tried to put a stop to all of this corruption, with minimal success.