Filenews 28 February 2024 - by Marilena Panayi
One in three GHS beneficiaries who went through the reassessment process in 2023 were removed from the system because it was found that they did not meet the criteria to be entitled to care through the General Health System.
Specifically, as HIO senior officer Artemis Pitta told "F", "the organization is also re-evaluating the beneficiaries of the GHS to confirm that they continue to meet the criteria of the Law. In cases where it is found that a beneficiary ceases to meet the provisions of the legislation, he is deleted from the system. In this context, "in 2023, approximately 31,600 reassessments have been carried out, of which 13,000 led to the deletion of beneficiaries."
The majority of those expelled from the GHS were third-country nationals or European citizens "who, while when they registered they met the criteria, i.e. they had their permanent residence in Cyprus, worked and made payments to the Social Insurance Fund, then it appears that either their residence permit expired or they lost their job or left the island and could not, by law, to be beneficiaries of the GHS".
The re-evaluation of beneficiaries, said Pitta, "is a process that will be continuous and the purpose of the organization is to make groupings of beneficiaries. For Cypriot citizens, things are of course somewhat more complicated because it is difficult to prove whether someone lives permanently in Cyprus or not in order to meet the criteria set by law for GHS beneficiaries.
And to the HIO, he said, "information comes about Cypriots abroad who come to Cyprus when they have to undergo expensive surgeries and receive services through the GHS while not paying contributions to the Social Insurance Fund. However, the fact that they do not pay contributions to the Social Insurance Fund does not automatically make them non-beneficiaries because they may belong to the category of unemployed. So you understand that although we as an organization will try to isolate some cases, when for example a Cypriot citizen does not seem to use the GHS for very long periods of time and suddenly appears to be undergoing surgery. But it will still not be easy to prove that this citizen is not a resident of Cyprus."
In any case, Pitta said, "even for third-country nationals who are deleted from the system, the HIO proceeds with their re-registration, and this has happened several times, when they are employed again and meet the criteria of permanent and legal residence in Cyprus."
In the meantime, the Health Committee of the Parliament has raised before the HIO an issue concerning European citizens who live for decades in Cyprus and remain on the island after their retirement, but lose their right to receive services through the GHS. According to the law, European citizens do not lose their right when they obtain a certificate of permanent residence in Cyprus. However, as we are informed, the HIO is waiting for more information about the European citizens' group to which the members of the parliamentary committee on Health refer as there is a possibility that these are beneficiaries of a different category.
