The Government plans to provide health coverage to about 2.4 million uninsured Greeks by June.

Minister of Health, Mr. Adonis Georgiadis announced on Wednesday at a pharmaceutical company event that the completion within the next three weeks of ATLAS project i.e. the electronic recording of the uninsured individuals, will trigger the delivery of health services inside or outside hospitals to a large segment of the population.

“According to our records, the total number of uninsured individuals in Greece is currently estimated at 1.9-2.4 million. Providing healthcare access for this group was the greatest wager faced by the government”, said Mr Georgiadis .

The minister was attending an offer of free medication for the uninsured, mainly cancer drugs, by the pharmaceutical firm Roche. The firm will provide 11,500 units worth a total of 2.0 million euros to hospitals and to pharmacies operated by the Athens Medical Association (ISA) and Association of Pharmaceutical Enterprises of Greece (SFEE).

In regard to the provision of health care services for the uninsured, health minister admitted that “many hospitals refuse to treat uninsured individuals, because of reduced funds. As a result, many hospital administrators are tight with their expenses”.