By Nicolas Peter Kaparti
The issue that has been plaguing the system seems to be heading towards resolution, since last September in the ranks of the Health Insurance Organisation in relation to the contracts it signed with private hospitals, enabling doctors who are not contracted with GESY to provide services in a hospital within the system.
A few months after the relevant opinion of the Attorney General on irregularities in these contracts and the instructions of the Minister of Health to OAS, not to "lock in" any new agreement with any private hospital either for its inclusion in the GHS or for the inclusion of private ICUs in the System, Until the issue is resolved, the Assistant Attorney General, called a meeting of all parties involved to bring the issue before them in order to find a solution to the problem.
It will be recalled that in his opinion the Attorney General indicated that: "inpatient health care from a contracted hospital should be provided through the System by a contracted physician only.In the event that inpatient health care is provided to a beneficiary by a contracted hospital through a non-contracted physician, it is implied that the contracted hospital will be paid by the beneficiary, an action that violates the provisions of Section 31(5) of the Acty, and therefore impermissible."
Specifically, at a meeting held yesterday away from the spotlight, Assistant Attorney General, Savvas Angelides, Minister of Health, Michael Hadjipandela and Director General OAI, Athos Tsinodidis, re-discussed the problem that arises with doctors who are not contracted to YESY and perform their duties in hospitals that are part of the System.
According to reliable information from the Cyprus Times, Mr Angelides clarified that any other interpretations, of the relevant article of the Law, held by the OAS do not concern the Legal Service and that the opinion of the Attorney General cannot be questioned by anyone.
From there, some facts and scenarios were put down on the table, since each case requires a different approach or settlement. Also, the Legal Service will expect from the Agency further information which could not be provided at this stage without conducting a study.
Therefore, the discussion on the opinion has been closed and the Legal Service will be in a holding pattern to see what action the OIA will take to settle the irregularities identified that deviate from the relevant law.
In fact, a competent source told the Cyprus Times that the parties involved have reached a preliminary agreement, however at this stage there is nothing to announce until the clarifying information requested by the Assistant Attorney General is sent to OAI. While at the same time he conveyed the assessment that by the end of next week it is expected that there will be a settlement of the whole issue.
Private hospitals and CAHs
Beyond that, the development of the above issue is being followed with great interest by the 3 private hospitals that have expressed their intention to consult with OAI on the inclusion of their CAHs in the System, as well as the private hospital of Nicosia, which has a high probability of being contracted to the GHS.
As reported in previous Cyprus Times report, the OAI has put on... ice the consultations it had with the above hospitals, following a directive from the Health Minister. This directive by Michael Hadjipandela has been in force for 2.5 months and the hospitals concerned are on hold waiting for the issue to be resolved in order to proceed with the consultations with the Agency.
According to a competent source, thethree private hospitals expressed their intention to consult with the OAI to integrate their TAPs into the GHS, are Apolloneio in Nicosia, Agios Rafael in Larnaca and Evangelismos in Paphos.
It is clarified that in all three cases the consultations with the Agency were in preliminary stages.
At the same time, the advanced consultations of the OAI with a private hospital from Nicosia, which has a good chance of being included in the GESY, have been put on hold.
According to the Cyprus Times, it is a private hospital that was narrowly missed out on joining the GESY at the start of the second phase of the system. We understand that this private hospital is waiting for the "green light" from OAI and once it receives it, it will hold a General Assembly in order for the shareholders to decide whether or not the hospital will be included in the GHS.
It is estimated that the majority of the shareholders are positive about the hospital's inclusion in the System.
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
