Greece’s government is accelerating changes in the health care system and the relevant decisions for the new scheme of “personal doctor” with all possible details are expected to be published by June 15. With the new system, patients insured at the public health care system are at risk to get “punished” with penalties and pay for medical cost from their own pocket if not registered in the new system.
From the day the ministerial decisions are published, there will be a margin of one semester during which citizens will have to choose a personal doctor and register with. Otherwise there will be three basic “penalties” which will be applied 6 months after the start of registration, according to sources of health news website healthreport.gr.
Personal doctor and penalties
Within the next six months, every citizen should choose their personal doctor to monitor their health and offer their services when needed.
The choice can be made regardless of the region, either with doctors who currently serve in public structures of Primary Health Care, ie in Health Centers, Local Health Units (TOMY), polyclinics, etc., or with private doctors.
Note that uninsured patients are allowed to seek only public health care facilities and doctors since June 1, 2022, with the exception of the chronic ill.
The penalties
Citizens who do not have a personal doctor will have “penalties” paid from their own pockets.
Based on the regulations that are expected to be issued by the Health Ministry the penalties are:
– Citizens will not be able to be referred to public hospitals. Therefore, they will have to choose a private hospital to meet their needs, while there will be no coverage by Health Care Organization EOPYY since no referral has been issued.
-They will pay bigger self-participation in medical operations, tests and examinations but also in medicines. The exact percentage will be set in the ministerial decision but as stated by the health ministry leadership especially for medicines, self-participation will probably be increased by 10%. That is, while today the participation for the purchase of medicines reaches up to 25%, whoever does not have a prescription from a personal doctor will pay 35%.
-They will not have priority for appointments for medical services in the public health care system ESY, since appointments will be booked through the personal doctor and therefore will be preceded by the citizens who have chosen their personal doctor.
According to healthreport.gr, the “personal doctor” scheme is an obligation based to the bailout-agreements signed between Greece and the European lenders during the economic crisis. Therefore once the ministerial decision is published, it will be submitted to competent European institutions the next day.
PS Fact is: a) we live in a country with a government seeking to “punish” citizens by each and every given occasion (€300 for not wearing a mask, for not getting a vaccine) and b) citizens have to come up for each politicians’ mismanagement that ended up in a huge debt, while no politician was held accountable for the economic crisis, except PASOK’s scapegoat, ex defense minister Tsochatsopoulos.
When I first heard about this proposal some time ago I am pretty sure that it said it would need to be a doctor in the public sector. The following paragraph suggests that it can also be a private doctor:
“The choice can be made regardless of the region, either with doctors who currently serve in public structures of Primary Health Care, ie in Health Centers, Local Health Units (TOMY), polyclinics, etc., or with private doctors.”
There is a web site where you can register with a doctor, https:/
you confuse the two systems. the personal doctor scheme has not launched yet, doctors have not registered yet and therefore no link to website available.
Greek citizens have to do this.
Greek citizens have to do that.
So the foriegn national’s living in Greece have what sort of punishment under this scheme.?
same, I guess
You either are eligible To register with a doctor i.e. have insurance through the system And therefore Will not be liable To fines. Or you dont have insurance through the system so you have alternative private health insurance or you pay. Thats my understanding, Greek or foreign
Another thing to add to our list of things to do!! 🙄
we are responsible citizens, aren’t we? *sigh*
It’s called trying to survive.😉 ha ha
There is no way that anyone could afford to pay full price for medicine. 😵💫
I’m totally confused, does this apply if you have EKA? also we live on a very small island there are only a couple of private doctors, do we have to paying for the privilege of having to register, plus do Greek nationals have to register?
for IKA too, no pay for registration. for everyone living in GR, (with an AMKA, I suppose). No idea what the Gov’t will organize for foreign nationals, i.e. tourists in need of medical care, or permanent residents (who are insured how???).
This is one of the reasons I registered again in my home country (where I live half the time anyway). We lost a Greek niece last year due to cancer. No doctor wanted to help if not for a big check. She lost valuable time in the proces of finding medical aid.
The other main reason is the pension plan. After 15 years IKA my friend takes none! Working in tourism he has ‘only’ 2500 stamps. Fortunately he takes a small pension from the UK to pay his bills.
i have been searching the web for the registration but can not find it although a friend of mine said it was possible. Do you have a link where to register ?
I remember in 2018 you had to register also with your doctor and your farmacy but don’t know if that site still exist.
I think it will open on July 1st. have no link right now.