A SRI Lankan woman’s future is hanging in the balance because foreign workers are not entitled to free health care in Cyprus, even though they pay social security like everyone else.
Wimala Wijekoon’s four-month-old daughter Ioanna recently underwent emergency surgery and now she is unable to pay for the operation.
The government has refused to help cover the expenses of £3,400, and even though Wimala has health insurance and pays her Social Insurance Stamps, she is not eligible for any financial aid.
Dr Antonis Hadjihanos from the Makarios Hospital, where the operation took place, told the Cyprus Mail it was not up to them to give free health care. “We are an institution that follows the rules and we have to charge patients who are not entitled to free treatment,” said Hadjihanos.
He added that only the Health Minister had the authority to exempt patients from paying for treatment. “Wimala was not entitled to free care and therefore she must pay, unless the Health Minister says otherwise.”
However, Health Minister Dina Akkelidou yesterday told the Cyprus Mail that she had no idea of the case in question, despite the numerous letters sent to the Ministry by Wimala’s employer requesting financial help.
“I don’t know about this. They need to fill out forms,” said Akkelidou.
An official from the Health Ministry Panayiotis Yiallouros, however, stressed that the Ministry received hundreds of pleas every year from foreigners who could not afford their medical treatment.
“As the law stands today, exemptions from paying for operations and treatment are only given in extreme circumstances that can also be justified in the public interest. First, the person applying for help must prove that they cannot pay,” said Yiallouros.
He added that there were many families in dire financial straits and that there was only so much the Health Ministry could do. He stressed the main issue was that employers must provide insurance for their foreign workers.
Wimala does have health insurance, but it does not cover emergency operations such as the one performed to remove a tumor from her daughter’s bile duct. Wimala’s employer told the Cyprus Mail that they had discovered no insurance company would offer complete coverage for health care for foreign workers.
But Yiallouros simply said it was the employers’ responsibility to find the appropriate insurance. “Foreigners must have insurance. They need insurance. It is their only safety net,” he stressed.
Foreigners in Cyprus are entitled to gain certain ill health allowances from the Social Insurance Department, according to PEO official Nicos Papaconstantinou.
“However, the law stipulates that a worker wanting to claim their ill health allowances must have worked for 18 months. This does not only apply to foreigners, but to Cypriot workers too,” said Papaconstantinou.
“The problem with the foreigners coming to Cyprus to work as housemaids, on farms or under other labour contracts, is that they must leave the country in two years. Therefore this often presents a problem when they want to claim benefits from the Social Insurance Fund,” said Papaconstantinou.
He stressed that Cypriots and foreigners paying Social Insurance were treated equally despite contradictory claims.
“The only time anyone can claim their ill health funds immediately is if they can prove they have had a labour accident. Then, the money is given up front,” said Papaconstantinou.
But assistance is as far as foreigners can hope. Free treatment for foreigners at hospitals is out of the question, according to Health Ministry official Yiallouros.
“Foreigners are not entitled to hospital cards or free treatment. Only Cypriot citizens with a low income have that right,” he said.
As of May 1, European Union nationals will also be eligible for free care at the hospital, but Yiallouros added that non-EU members would still need to make alternative arrangements for medical treatment.
