A WHO report records large inequalities in access to and the cost of health care in Greece, as 10% of Greek households have health expenditures so high that the coverage of their basic needs is threatened.
The highest health expenditures are concentrated mainly in the poorest 1/5 of the population, mainly for outpatient needs. For higher-income households, the burdens arise more often from hospital care and dental care.
The report emphasizes that, despite improvements in recent years, Greece continues to show some of the highest levels of unmet need for medical services in the European Union.
WHO recommends reducing co-payments, affordable access to medicines, and universal coverage for all residents.
“Although improvement is observed in financial protection, a large number of people, especially those with the lowest incomes, continue to face financial difficulty and unmet need,” says Dr. Natasha Azzopardi-Muscat, director of the Health Systems department at WHO/Europe.
The report acknowledges that significant steps have been taken in recent years to improve access; however, Greece still has some of the highest levels of unmet medical needs in the European Union, mainly due to cost, while public spending remains below the European average.
The 2008 economic crisis and cuts in services, the shrinkage of public spending, and structural problems caused an increase in financial difficulty and unmet need for health care, the report notes.
Πηγή: News 247
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