Cyprus Mail 14 January 2022 - by Antigoni Pitta
The future viability of general health scheme Gesy was discussed on Thursday in a meeting held by President Nicos Anastasiades, attended by several stakeholders including health officials, the auditor-general and the attorney-general.
In a written statement following the meeting, deputy government spokesperson Niovi Parisinou said that officials discussed the relationship between Gesy operator, the Health Insurance Organisation (HIO), and the state health services organisation (Okypy), responsible for running public hospitals.
The meeting also touched on how HIO’s responsibilities can be adjusted to better cover state obligations related to Okypy and ensure the sustainability of Gesy.
In part the meeting was held to address a December report by Auditor-General Odysseas Michaelides, which accused the HIO of violating the law and philosophy of Gesy.
The auditor-general said there were blatant problems with the contracts signed by the HIO with private hospitals, also saying he had asked the attorney-general to investigate possible criminal offences.
The exchange took place in the House watchdog committee which was investigating why some private hospitals which offer services to Gesy patients had not included their A&E departments.
Following Thursday’s meeting, it was decided that HIO will be in talks with the Legal Service to address any issues that have been identified, while both HIO and Okypy will be consulting the attorney-general to establish how checks will be performed from now on to avoid potential system abuses.
Upon the president’s request, the two organisations will also be meeting with the finance and health ministries to tackle any weaknesses in the legislation related to Gesy.
What became obvious during the meeting, Parisinou said, was everyone’s determination to start a creative dialogue aiming at tackling the weaknesses and issues identified.
“The common wish of everyone involved us to ensure the viability of Gesy, one of our most important public health reforms”.
According to Parisinou, the president called on everyone involved to begin working towards solutions as soon as possible, emphasising that he will not accept any changes in the philosophy of Gesy, “a system that is the public’s greatest conquest”.
A follow-up meeting was scheduled two months from now to check whether today’s decisions have been implemented.
