Gesy talks between government and doctors to start in October

Consultations between the Health Insurance Organisation (HIO) and the Cyprus Medical Association (Cyma) on pay for doctors who want to join the National Health Scheme (Gesy) are set to begin in October, Health Minister Giorgos Pamporidis said on Thursday.

Following a meeting at the Presidential Palace held by President Nicos Anastasiades, where representatives of the HIO and Cyma discussed doctors’ pay when Gesy kicks in, Pamporidis, who was also present, said that consultations will begin in October and are expected to be completed six months later.

Pamporidis said that the contribution of doctors to Gesy is very important and that the goal of the HIO is to satisfy, as much as possible, the doctors’ pay demands.

“I look forward to a conclusion (of the consultations) which would allow health professionals to participate in the scheme (Gesy), not just because it now covers the entire population, but because it is also now becoming a particularly interesting commercial cooperation between the HIO and the professionals (doctors),” he said,

The minister also said that the involvement of the president in this process proves the importance Anastasiades gives to health system reform and its implementation.

Both sides, he said – Cyma and HIO – are prepared to enter the dialogue, which is expected to be completed within six months.

Keeping this timeframe is imperative, he said, as in March 2019 contributions of taxpayers to Gesy will begin, while in June of the same year, outpatient care is to kick in.

Parliament passed in June three government bills and regulations introducing Gesy, which were the result of months of haggling at the House health committee. Two government bills, one creating an organisation that will oversee the autonomous state hospitals, and another harmonising the original Gesy law with European Union requirements, plus a set of ordinances regulating labour issues and contribution rates, were submitted to parliament last November.

After a gradual implementation, Gesy will be in full swing by July 1, 2020.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.