The move is the most significant step away from the model of universal access to healthcare in Greece developed according to the principle that it is the right of any individual to be admitted in public hospitals for free.
While the health minister has said that the vulnerable will be exempt, critics of the measure claim that it will leave thousands of people unable to access basic health services. It is expected that the elderly in particular will be affected by the measure, many of whom live on pensions of less than €500 a month.
In a recent television interview on MEGA TV, health minister Adonis Georgiadis said that of the fee, 5 euros would be the cost for admittance with the remaining 20 going towards treatment costs, to be paid on each patient’s discharge from the hospital.
With regards to those unable to pay the fee Mr Georgiadis said, “We won’t put them in jail, don’t worry.”
However there are indications that the roll-out of the measure won’t be as smooth as the government would hope. In recent statements, the president of the workers’ union of Evangelismos hospital (one of the largest in Athens) stressed that the facility did not have the necessary systems in place to collect the fees.
In the coming days another measure is also due to come in to effect requiring patients to pay pharmacists an extra one euro for each prescription dispensed.
Specifically Mr Georgiadis said that the work required for the implementation of the measure is expected to be completed by the 10th of January at the latest. He stressed that pharmacists will not be taxed on the extra money which would go to EOPYY, the national health service provider.