Abstract
This paper critically examines the health reform trajectory in Greece in the last decade. The first part provides an overview of the Greek healthcare system shortly before the crisis, with an emphasis on the incomplete development of a national health system beset by inequalities in coverage and funding. At the backdrop of the crippling debt-crisis that engulfed the country in the late 2000s, the second part of the study tracks the major healthcare reforms under the successive bailout packages. These are examined from the point of view of whether they can secure the public system’s long-term viability and promote equity, or if they contribute to its withering away instead. The third part of the article looks at the impact of the austerity-driven reforms on inequalities in healthcare, highlighting some major findings regarding health outcomes.
Highlights
Greece has suffered the most severe consequences of the crisis that followed the global financial meltdown of 2008
This paper critically examines the health reform trajectory in Greece in the last decade
The country went through an eight-year program of external financial assistance by the European Commission (EC), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the so-called Troika, in exchange for strict austerity measures and structural adjustment across a large spectrum of policy areas
Summary
Greece has suffered the most severe consequences of the crisis that followed the global financial meltdown of 2008. The economic and financial crisis that engulfed the country as well as strong outside pressure by the international lenders brought reform, along the lines of the “path shift” introduced in 1983, high on the agenda. This precipitated changes, such as the unification of health funds, the standardization of contributions and the equalization of the benefits package across socio-occupational groups. We critically discuss the major reforms that took place over the last decade These are examined along two core dimensions of health systems: a) the funding and allocation of financial resources to providers, and (b) the structure and governance of provision. Corroborating evidence of a bleak future is manifested by data on increasing inequalities in healthcare regarding accessibility to and affordability of health services
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