Greek private doctors protest over unpaid bills
ATHENS - The Associated Press
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A doctor examines a patient inside a medical centre in Athens. Doctors are feeling the pinch from public health spending cuts. REUTERS photo
Private doctors working with Greece’s largest state-run healthcare provider have started charging their patients, in protest at the organization’s unpaid bills.A doctors’ association said the action against the provider EOPYY started Sept. 02 and will last at least five days. Pharmacists launched a similar protest at the weekend, refusing to hand out prescriptions from the state-backed insurer.
Greece’s coalition government is preparing a new round of cuts, worth at least 11.5 billion euros for 2012-13, demanded by the country’s international rescue creditors. It has fallen behind on paying its public health costs, among other payments, in an effort to restrain the budget deficit.