IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/hepoli/v125y2021i3p284-289.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The 2019 introduction of the new National Healthcare System in Cyprus

Author

Listed:
  • Petrou, Panagiotis

Abstract

In 2019, Cyprus launched its new National Healthcare System (NHS) as one of the major structural reforms required by the bail-out agreement with the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank (known as the Troika) which averted Cyprus bankruptcy in 2011. This paper presents the key features of the new NHS: A National Health Insurance Fund operated by the Health Insurance Organisation pays for services provided by a mix of public and private providers. A prerequisite for the establishment of this new quasi-market was the transfer of public hospitals from the Ministry of Health to the new State Health Services Organisation, thus establishing a purchaser-provider and regulator split. The first implementation phase started in June 2019 and introduced coverage of outpatient healthcare services for the entire population, providing access – with relatively small user charges – to family physicians, outpatient specialists, pharmaceuticals and laboratories. The second implementation phase began in June 2020 with the inclusion of hospital care, followed by the inclusion of specialty pharmaceuticals in September and was completed in December 2020. The reform is a vital achievement as it is a major step towards the goal of universal health coverage, reducing the excessive reliance on out-of-pocket payment and glaring inequities in access to care.

Suggested Citation

  • Petrou, Panagiotis, 2021. "The 2019 introduction of the new National Healthcare System in Cyprus," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(3), pages 284-289.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:hepoli:v:125:y:2021:i:3:p:284-289
    DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2020.12.018
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168851021000051
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.healthpol.2020.12.018?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jonas Schreyögg & Oliver Tiemann & Reinhard Busse, 2006. "Cost accounting to determine prices: How well do prices reflect costs in the German DRG-system?," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 9(3), pages 269-279, August.
    2. Cylus, Jonathan & Papanicolas, Irene & Constantinou, Elisavet & Theodorou, Mamas, 2013. "Moving forward: Lessons for Cyprus as it implements its health insurance scheme," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(1), pages 1-5.
    3. Maria Andreou & Panos Pashardes & Nicoletta Pashourtidou, 2010. "Cost and Value of Health Care in Cyprus," Cyprus Economic Policy Review, University of Cyprus, Economics Research Centre, vol. 4(1), pages 3-24, June.
    4. Mamas Theodorou, 2014. "Testing the Waters for GeSY: Patients’ Opinion of Cost-sharing Arrangements in the Public Health Care System in Cyprus," Cyprus Economic Policy Review, University of Cyprus, Economics Research Centre, vol. 8(2), pages 37-59, December.
    5. Petrou, Panagiotis & Vandoros, Sotiris, 2018. "Healthcare reforms in Cyprus 2013–2017: Does the crisis mark the end of the healthcare sector as we know it?," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(2), pages 75-80.
    6. Petrou, Panagiotis & Vandoros, Sotiris, 2015. "Cyprus in crisis: Recent changes in the pharmaceutical market and options for further reforms without sacrificing access to or quality of treatment," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(5), pages 563-568.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Petrou, Panagiotis & Vandoros, Sotiris, 2018. "Healthcare reforms in Cyprus 2013–2017: Does the crisis mark the end of the healthcare sector as we know it?," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(2), pages 75-80.
    2. Petrou, Panagiotis & Vandoros, Sotiris, 2015. "Cyprus in crisis: Recent changes in the pharmaceutical market and options for further reforms without sacrificing access to or quality of treatment," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(5), pages 563-568.
    3. Bernhard Ultsch & Ingrid Köster & Thomas Reinhold & Anette Siedler & Gérard Krause & Andrea Icks & Ingrid Schubert & Ole Wichmann, 2013. "Epidemiology and cost of herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia in Germany," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 14(6), pages 1015-1026, December.
    4. Gartner, Daniel & Kolisch, Rainer, 2014. "Scheduling the hospital-wide flow of elective patients," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 233(3), pages 689-699.
    5. Lukas Kwietniewski & Jonas Schreyögg, 2018. "Efficiency of physician specialist groups," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 409-425, September.
    6. Vogler, Sabine & Zimmermann, Nina & de Joncheere, Kees, 2016. "Policy interventions related to medicines: Survey of measures taken in European countries during 2010–2015," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(12), pages 1363-1377.
    7. Oliver Tiemann & Jonas Schreyögg, 2012. "Changes in hospital efficiency after privatization," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 310-326, December.
    8. Klaus Kaier & Holger Reinecke & Huseyin Naci & Lutz Frankenstein & Martin Bode & Werner Vach & Philip Hehn & Andreas Zirlik & Manfred Zehender & Jochen Reinöhl, 2018. "The impact of post-procedural complications on reimbursement, length of stay and mechanical ventilation among patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation in Germany," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 19(2), pages 223-228, March.
    9. Vogl, Matthias, 2014. "Hospital financing: Calculating inpatient capital costs in Germany with a comparative view on operating costs and the English costing scheme," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 141-151.
    10. Sutherland, Jason Murray & Walker, Jan, 2008. "Challenges of rehabilitation case mix measurement in Ontario hospitals," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(3), pages 336-348, March.
    11. Jonas Schreyögg & Tom Stargardt & Oliver Tiemann & Reinhard Busse, 2006. "Methods to determine reimbursement rates for diagnosis related groups (DRG): A comparison of nine European countries," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 9(3), pages 215-223, August.
    12. Fainman, Emily Zhu & Kucukyazici, Beste, 2020. "Design of financial incentives and payment schemes in healthcare systems: A review," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    13. Mareike Heimeshoff & Helge Hollmeyer & Jonas Schreyögg & Oliver Tiemann & Doris Staab, 2012. "Cost of Illness of Cystic Fibrosis in Germany," PharmacoEconomics, Springer, vol. 30(9), pages 763-777, September.
    14. Klaus Kaier & Constantin Mühlen & Andreas Zirlik & Wolfgang Bothe & Philip Hehn & Manfred Zehender & Christoph Bode & Peter Stachon, 2019. "Estimating the additional costs per life saved due to transcatheter aortic valve replacement: a secondary data analysis of electronic health records in Germany," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 20(4), pages 625-632, June.
    15. Christoph Baltin & Florian Kron & Alexander Urbanski & Thomas Zander & Anna Kron & Felix Berlth & Robert Kleinert & Michael Hallek & Arnulf Heinrich Hoelscher & Seung-Hun Chon, 2019. "The economic burden of endoscopic treatment for anastomotic leaks following oncological Ivor Lewis esophagectomy," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(8), pages 1-12, August.
    16. Vogl, Matthias, 2013. "Improving patient-level costing in the English and the German ‘DRG’ system," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(3), pages 290-300.
    17. Tom Stargardt & Jonas Schreyögg & Ivan Kondofersky, 2014. "Measuring The Relationship Between Costs And Outcomes: The Example Of Acute Myocardial Infarction In German Hospitals," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(6), pages 653-669, June.
    18. Tinelli, Michela & Petrou, Panagiotis & Samoutis, George & Traynor, Vivie & Olympios, George & McGuire, Alistair, 2017. "Implementing shared-decision-making for diabetes care across country settings: What really matters to people?," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(7), pages 786-792.
    19. Ettelt, Stefanie & Fazekas, Mihaly & Mays, Nicholas & Nolte, Ellen, 2012. "Assessing health care planning – A framework-led comparison of Germany and New Zealand," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(1), pages 50-59.
    20. Giammanco, Maria Daniela & Gitto, Lara, 2019. "Health expenditure and FDI in Europe," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 255-267.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:hepoli:v:125:y:2021:i:3:p:284-289. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu or the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/healthpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.