Last update:
28-Sep-2019

The global financial crisis, which started in 2008 in the USA, influenced most of the European countries, and in particular Greece, with serious socio-economic and political consequences. The Greek Government, faced with the risk of bankruptcy, was forced to accept financial, signing memoranda that imposed austerity, reductions in expenditure and structural reforms in all sectors. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the austerity policies in the health systems of Greece and other countries that applied budgetary stability programs, and to present the most significant health-care reforms that were instituted from 2010 onwards. A literature search was conducted of the economic indicators of the last 10 years in the international databases of WHO, OECD Health Statistics, Eurostat, the European Core Health Indicators and the statistical service of Cyprus. During the economic crisis the health level of the Greek population was documented to be at a satisfactory level, comparable with the other countries that experienced austerity, and even with Germany, a country with large expenditures on health, which did not experience economic crisis. Despite reduction in health expenditure and increasing unemployment, improvement of most health indicators was observed, with the exception of overall mortality and suicide. Major reforms implemented after 2010 in the Greek health system include restructuring of primary health care services, e-prescribing and the free access of all (including the uninsured) to the Greek National Health Service. Although many health indicators of the Greek population show improvement over this period, it is important to review the data and redefine the priorities in the field of health care at regular intervals, and in population subgroups.

Key words: Financial crisis, Healthcare reforms, Social policy, Socio-economic indicators.