Public and private imperatives of Greek health policies

Health Policy. 1993 Dec;26(2):105-17. doi: 10.1016/0168-8510(93)90113-4.

Abstract

Health care in Greece has historically developed into a multi-tier system, a mosaic of public and private providers of services covering the members of occupational social insurance organizations. In 1983 PASOK's socialist government established a unified National Health System. The aim was to arrest the growth of the private sector and promote the public sector to a dominant position. The socialist legislation has recently been reviewed by a conservative government that aims at a competitive mixed market of public and private providers. The growth of private health care, however, is not solely a matter of political support but also of new opportunities for profitable investments that arise from a shrinking public sector under economic and fiscal constraints.

Publication types

  • Historical Article

MeSH terms

  • Greece
  • Health Care Reform / history*
  • Health Policy / history*
  • History, 20th Century
  • Insurance, Health / legislation & jurisprudence
  • National Health Programs / history*
  • National Health Programs / organization & administration
  • Private Sector
  • Privatization / legislation & jurisprudence
  • Public Sector
  • Socialism
  • State Medicine / legislation & jurisprudence