State health services Okypy is seeking to recoup millions of euros of losses incurred from services to non-Gesy patients through a revised pricelist, it said on Friday.

The costs of providing health services to such patients, among them asylum seekers, illegal migrants and tourists, reportedly reach €45 million a year.

Patients in this category have reached 22 per cent of the total and included those receiving care in emergency departments, inpatient care, and surgeries.

Speaking on CyBC radio, Okypy spokesman Charalambos Charilaou said the current pricing of services dates back to 2013, and a revised list is now being sent to parliament for approval.

“Prior to 2013, when the system still operated with health cards, anyone eligible for a health card could have access to free hospital care, based on financial need,” he said.

Pre-Gesy only 20 per cent of the population were not eligible and their costs had to be paid out of pocket, he added.

In 2013 a list was drawn up but it was based on not being prohibitive rather than on actual costing, he said.

The result was that with the launch of the new state health service in 2019 prices were too low – much lower than health insurer (HIO) compensation costs.

As an example, a caesarean section is charged at €2,500, while the HIO and non-Gesy providers charge more than double this, €5,500, Okypy’s financial director, Roberto Karachannas, had told the parliamentary Health committee.

Okypy has now compiled a new list of all services provided, both inpatient and outpatient, and this had been submitted to the health ministry and forwarded for legal review.

The bill passed the House health committee on Thursday and is soon to be brought before the plenum for a vote, Charilaou said.

The move was occasioned by the mandate for public hospitals to become financially autonomous as once this happens they will longer receive state subsidy, so billing all non Gesy-eligible patients had to be streamlined.

Ministries will also henceforth be held to account for coverage of services to patients under their responsibility, Charilou said.

The health ministry keeps a list of non-enrolled beneficiaries which it covers, such as asylum seekers. Prisoners at onsite clinics are to be covered by the defence ministry but if a non-Gesy inmate must be seen out of prison, they will also have to pay out of pocket.

Tourists have the option to go to public or private hospitals where they would pay out of pocket based on the new list, unless they can be covered by travel insurance.

As for illegal migrants, it had yet to be determined which state agency would be responsible, Charilaou said.