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OAY is running to collect the uncollected – Expected abuses answer

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OAY is running to collect the uncollected - Expected abuses answer

The revelations bring a barrage of developments and reactions, according to which a portion of doctors repeatedly abuse the GESS, at a time when the problems that the OAY is called upon to manage have no end. After the doctor who charged the system with injections of thousands of euros which he did not grant, yesterday, before the Parliamentary Committee on Health, new complaints were heard about other providers. Typical is the case of a specialist doctor who asked for compensation, stating that he had received a visit from a beneficiary, while giving advice over the phone. It is expected that in a general health system, with 900,000 beneficiaries and 10,000 providers, there will be problems, illegalities and abuses, said, among others, the director of OAY Andreas Papakonstantinou.

Tax evasion

Responding to the statements of the Minister of Finance on tax evasion, Mr. Papakonstantinou stressed that there is transparency in the GESS, something that did not exist before, adding that, for decades, the Ministry of Finance and the Tax Department were trying to put order in tax evasion. Regarding the cases of doctors who received compensation of 600,000 euros, Mr. Papakonstantinou stated that it is valid, noting that it should be discussed whether these exorbitant amounts are justified and whether this is the big picture of the health system. According to the report of the Auditor General, he noted, 72% of specialist doctors received an average of 27,000 euros for 2021 and we are talking about a doctor who received 800,000 euros, which is 0.06% of the doctors participating in the system, he said. Mr. Papakonstantinou, pointing out that the exorbitant amounts concern individual cases of professionals.

The budget

Before the Health Committee of the Parliament, the issue of the budget of OAY was raised yesterday, with the chairman of the Board of Directors of the organization, Thomas Antoniou, characteristically stating that in no case have the expenses of GESS been avoided, with the system having a reserve. This is a security reserve, 300 million, which corresponds to three months of contributions, with Mr. Antoniou noting that it is one of the mechanisms that the organization has found to prevent the system from collapsing. Regarding the organization's budget for 2022, it is expected to show an increase of 100 million. The total expenditures for GESS services for 2021 amounted to € 1.21 billion, to approximately 920,000 beneficiaries. More specifically, in relation to the expenditures of 2021, they amounted to € 1.21 billion for 2021, of which € 227 million related to outpatient activities of specialist doctors, € 87.7 million for personal physicians, € 53 , 5 million for laboratory fees, € 32.7 million for pharmacists, € 36.7 million for other health professionals, while the cost for outpatient medicines amounted to € 180 million in terms of in-hospital costs care, amounted to € 563 million in 2021, while expenditures for First Aid and ambulances amounted to € 32.4 million.

From June

Asked about the issue of abuses and the measures taken by the organization to control them, Mr. Antoniou noted that they have not been eliminated, they will never be completely eliminated, but must be reduced. He also noted that, when the GESS started, 40% of the visits were referrals, a percentage that decreased below 30%. Answering a question from the deputies about when the quality criteria will be applied in the doctors 'compensations, but also where are the protocols prepared by the OAU for each specialty, Mr. Antoniou answered that after May the way of the doctors' compensation will change , so that we gradually go to 70-30. He explained that compensation based on quality criteria is not something that can be applied overnight and that there is no need to change the legislation to achieve this, as there is a provision, according to which doctors will receive the 70% of the amount they are entitled to per visit and the remaining 30% you will give them depending on their behavior towards the system.

Source: politis.com.cy

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