\n<\/p>\n
The government is working on an intervention on health insurance premiums, as announced by government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis, in an effort to curb the increasing costs of hospital programs.<\/p>\n
The government\u2019s intervention comes after the new increases that have been announced or are expected to be announced within 2025 and which reach 14% for lifelong insurance policies and approximately 8% for annually renewable ones, if the increase due to the age of the insured is also taken into account, which is added to the nominal increase in tariffs.<\/p>\n
The issue concerns 1.2 million holders of private health insurance programs and has taken on political implications, as PASOK has announced a legislative initiative.<\/p>\n
Sources have told Kathimerini that Development Minister Takis Theodorikakos met on Tuesday with representatives of the Hellenic Association of Insurance Companies (EAEE), who raised the issue of the high compensations they pay every year and the increasing cost of medical services.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The meeting raised the issue of changing the methodology of the unified health index compiled by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) to include compensations for all hospital programs \u2013 not just lifelong programs \u2013 and therefore become more representative of the cost of the services provided.<\/p>\n
In a statement on Tuesday EAEE defended the hikes in premiums, noting that insurance companies \u201cdo not create or shape health costs themselves. They pay them,\u201d paying \u201cthe cost of care that their insured receive mainly from private health providers (clinics, diagnostic centers and doctors) through the premiums they collect.\u201d<\/p>\n
It also defended the objectivity of the IOBE index, which it notes is \u201ccompletely technocratic and reliable, as it is based on verifiable and cross-checkable data with the registers of insured persons and compensations of each insurance company.\u201d EAEE considers the existence of the existing special index as essential for achieving transparency and argues that its calculation should be carried out either by ELSTAT or by IOBE.<\/p>\n
The Association explained that \u201cthe health sector is loss-making for insurance companies, as the sum of compensations, expenses and fees exceeds the income they collect as premiums\u201d. Specifically, the sector\u2019s loss ratio is 112.9% (when the ratio exceeds 100%, the sector operates at a loss).<\/p>\n
The issue is also of concern to the Bank of Greece, which, as the supervisor of insurance companies, monitors the high cost of compensation, which drags the sector into high reserves and large capital needs.<\/p>\n
EAEE called for government intervention in five key areas:<\/p>\n
\u2013 Strengthening competition in the health sector by simplifying the framework for the creation of new private hospitals and faster attraction of investments in this sector.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Generalizing the application of diagnostic-related groups in the private sector, regardless of who pays.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Review of the high VAT rate of 24% on private health services.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Extension of the exemption of health insurance premiums from the 15% tax to all ages or at least to those over 65. It is recalled that the government has instituted the exemption from the tax for minors\u2019 insurance.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Public-Private Partnership (PPP) through cooperation between insurance companies and public hospitals for the benefit of citizens, insured persons and state revenues.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n