Health care in Cyprus

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Life expectancy at birth in Cyprus

Health care in Cyprus accounted for 7% of its GDP in 2014.[1] Between 2010 and 2014, health care spending increased from $1,705 per capita to $2,062 per capita.[2][3] Cyprus has a multi-payer health care system that consists of a public and private sector.[2] The public sector is funded by payroll, earnings taxes, and employer contributions.[2] The public sector healthcare provides social insurance for the employed, self-employed, and for several types of civil servant.[2]

A universal national health system, known as GESY, was implemented in Cyprus in June 2019. The system was created as part of a requirement in the bail-out agreement with the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank (the Troika).[4] The new system aims to provide affordable and effective medical care to all people residing permanently in Cyprus.

General Healthcare System (GeSY)[edit]

Cyprus's universal healthcare system, GESY, launched on June 1, 2019.[5] As of June 2022, 917,000 Cypriots have registered[6] with a general practitioner through the GESY system, which is roughly the current population of the Republic of Cyprus.

In 2013 Cyprus decided to establish a national health care system, with support from creditors of the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank, and European Commission.[7] A Cyprus national health system was predicted to increase coordination, reduce waste, and be more fiscally responsible.[8] Inefficiencies in the system include overlapping services between the public and private health service providers and "poor communication and coordination" between the sectors.[9] Cyprus ranks the highest among European Union nations on out-of-pocket health spending.[9][10] Public healthcare operates with the state's Ministry of Health providing control and funding.[9] Cyprus outperforms the EU average of dentists per capita (91 for every 100,000 people) and underperforms in pharmacists per capita (21 for every 100,000 people).[9]

George Pamporidis, the Minister of Health, announced in September 2015 that he intended to establish a National Health Service by 2017. He has previously pledged to clear our corruption in Cyprus' public hospitals.[11] Establishment of an operational NHS was a promise Cyprus made as part of the bailout programme with the Troika of international lenders. Pamporidis proposed a 2% special tax (1% for employers and 1% for employees) to finance a "mini-NHS".[12]

The current dual sector system is in the process of being replaced with a national health system that aims to provide universal coverage.[8] The National Health System was supposed to save €292 million from 2016-2025 compared to the predicted expenditures of the current system.[8] The public health sector managed by the Ministry of Health provided free services to approximately 83% of the population.[13] Public coverage includes dental, mental health and pharmaceutical services, as well as general public health resources.[9]

The three government bills and regulations introducing the General Healthcare System, GeSY, were agreed by parliament on 16 June 2017. It is supposed to be fully operational by 1 July 2020.[14] Collection of contributions for the first stage of implementation started on 1 March 2019.[15]

OKYpY[edit]

Sir David Nicholson was appointed chairman of the newly established State Health Services Organisation (Greek: ΟΚΥπΥ (OKYpY)) in 2018.[16] Thomas Antoniou is the president.

In March 2019 it was reported that more than 1,200 doctors have signed up to work for it. About 1,300-1,400 doctors will be required for its first phase.[17]

International comparisons[edit]

The Euro health consumer index ranked Cyprus 26th of 35 European countries in 2015, commenting that it did not really have a public healthcare system in the general European meaning of the term.[18]

Hospitals[edit]

Main article: List of hospitals in Cyprus

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Data and Statistics". WHO/Europe. World Health Organization. 19 February 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d Boslaugh, Sarah (2013). Health Care Systems around the World: A Comparative Guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. pp. 122–124. ISBN 978-1452203126.
  3. ^ "Cyprus". World Health Organization. World Health Organization.
  4. ^ Petrou, Panagiotis (2021). "The 2019 introduction of the new National Healthcare System in Cyprus". Health Policy. 125 (3): 284–289. doi:10.1016/j.healthpol.2020.12.018. ISSN 0168-8510.
  5. ^ Psyllides, George. "'Biggest social reform since 1960' off to a good start officials say (Update 2)". Cyprus Mail. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  6. ^ Christou, Jean. "Three years on, Gesy has been fully embraced by the population, health minister says (Updated)". Cyprus Mail. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  7. ^ Kanavos, Wouters, Panos, Olivier (2016). "Enabling Health-care Reform in the Republic of Cyprus" (PDF). London School of Economics and Political Science. London School of Economics and Political Science.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ a b c "ACTUARIAL STUDY OF CYPRUS NATIONAL HEALTH EXPENDITURE AND NATIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM" (PDF). Health Insurance Organization. Mercer.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS) - Cyprus" (PDF). WHO Regional Office for Europe. World Health Organization. 2014.
  10. ^ "Health at a Glance: Europe 2016: State of Health in the EU Cycle". OECD Publishing. 2016. doi:10.1787/888933429333. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. ^ "'I'm no Robin Hood', but health reforms a must, says minister". Cyprus Mail. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  12. ^ "Mini-NHS is a crucial move". In Cyprus. 24 January 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  13. ^ "Coverage for health care". Health at a Glance: Europe 2016: State of Health in the EU Cycle. Health at a Glance: Europe: 153. 2016. doi:10.1787/health_glance_eur-2016-50-en. ISBN 9789264265585.
  14. ^ "Health system bills unanimously approved, 'historic day'". Cyprus Mail. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  15. ^ "The General Healthcare System (GHS, Greek: ΓεΣΥ (GeSY)) will be implemented as from the 1st of March 2019". Lexology. 5 April 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  16. ^ "Our View: New government must brace for a battle with doctors". Cyprus Mail. 14 January 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  17. ^ "More than 1,200 doctors signed up for NHS". In-Cyprus. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  18. ^ "Outcomes in EHCI 2015" (PDF). Health Consumer Powerhouse. 26 January 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
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