Bold interventions required to address the problems facing the Greek health sector, says SFEE

The outstanding debts of public hospitals in Greece and the Organization for the Provision of Health Services (EOPYY) to pharmaceutical companies have reached the 1.8 billion euros ($2.37 billion), Konstantinos Frouzis, president of the Greek pharmaceutical industry body SFEE told the 11th Healthworld 2012 Cοnference, titled Reviewing the Memorandum - Impacts on Healthcare, held in Athens last week.

Mr Frouzis stated that, over the past three years the government’s outpatient pharmaceutical expenditure has been reduced by 45%. At the same time, pharmaceutical companies are the largest direct creditor of public hospitals and of EOPYY and are owed 1.8 billion euros, while they have suffered a loss of 1 billion euros as a result of the haircut on the bonds given to them by the government in settlement of unpaid supplies, and in effect they have not received any payment since 2006.

In this regard, Mr Frouzis stressed that “the government should make an explicit commitment in writing that, once the expected next portion of the loan is received by Greece, it will adhere to a schedule for the settlement of its obligations to pharmaceutical companies within 2012, in order to ensure that the industry can continue to fulfil its role as a supplier, which is essential for the sustainability of the healthcare system.” Moreover, the EOPYY’s funding problem should be dealt with at the highest political level, and all parties concerned must realise that this is not a matter of costs, but rather one of revenues and revenue mis-forecasts, he said.