In a joint statement, Milena Apostolaki, the party’s sector head for banking, private debt, borrower protection and investment, and Giannis Tsimaris, its sector head for health, said that, according to the report, large private healthcare groups are alleged to use subsidiaries that procure medical devices, through which intra-group transactions are conducted at significantly inflated prices.
They said that, if the alleged practices are confirmed, they could artificially inflate the cost of hospital care, which is passed on to insurance companies and ultimately to policyholders through increases in health insurance premiums.
The two sector heads raised questions about the oversight of charges and intra-group transactions, as well as the protection of policyholders from the possible passing on of higher costs.
Proposals on health insurance premiums
PASOK links the issue to successive increases in premiums for lifetime health insurance policies, arguing that the adjustments are forcing policyholders, particularly older people, to abandon policies on which they have paid premiums for decades.
According to the joint statement, the party has approached the Bank of Greece and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), calling for more effective supervision, transparency in premium adjustments and protection for policyholders against losing their insurance cover.
It also says it has submitted legislative proposals to limit increases in health insurance premiums through objective and transparent criteria, protect older policyholders and establish a reliable claims index for health insurance.
Making DRGs mandatory in private hospitals
A central element of PASOK’s proposals is the mandatory use of the DRG system in private hospitals. The system classifies hospital cases into diagnostic categories, with the aim of setting costs in advance based on specific characteristics of each case.
The two sector heads said its introduction could ensure that the cost of hospital care is known in advance and subject to transparent rules, limiting unexpected or abusive charges. They also propose that clinics should bear any costs exceeding the predetermined amount, unless a change in diagnostic category is documented.
They also attribute political responsibility to the New Democracy government and call on the ministries of Development and Health to take action to address distortions in the private healthcare market.
“Policyholders’ protection must not be subordinated to unchecked pricing in private healthcare and the opaque operation of the insurance market,” they conclude in their joint statement.