Private diagnostic centers across Greece put a padlock as of Monday, June 10th 2019, due to disagreements with the Health Ministry. The strike is thought to be indefinite or until there is a solution between the centers’ owners and the government.
The strike means that neither patients insured at the National Health Care System EOPYY not those with private insurance can have tests in the private centers with the possible effect of a bottleneck at the public hospitals of the country.
The Panhellenic Federation of the private diagnostic centers says that they offer services to 90% of the insured at the EOPYY.
On Tuesday, a second meeting of representatives of the Association with Health Minister Andrea Xanthos will be held in a desperate attempt to find a golden incision and avoid suffering for thousands of people.“Diagnostic Centers and Laboratories will remain closed for an indefinite period”, Georgios Vougioukas, president of the Pan-Hellenic Association of Medical Diagnostic Centers (PASIDIK), reiterated on Sunday.
Vougioukas justified the strike saying that the clawback policy forces them to return to the state 110 million euros only for 2018.
Clawback and rebate mechanisms have been imposed with the bailout agreements and it means insurance refunds according to the volume of examinations conducted by the Diagnostic Centers.
According to Vougioukas, while the clawback was implemented in 2013 and for a scheduled duration of 2-3 years, the government has extended their implementation until 2022.
He added that while the Prime Minister says the country exited the bailout agreements, the state “still grabbing the money of the indebted facilities.”
