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Athens pharmacies holding out
Shortages of medicines at pharmacies in Athens are to continue for at
least one more day after pharmacists decided to continue to refuse to
provide drugs on credit due to the failure of social security funds to
settle their debts.
The Attica Pharmacists’ Association is due to
meet Tuesday to decide whether to continue with its protest action and
if so for how long. Speaking to Kathimerini Monday, the head of the
association, Constantinos Lourandos, said that pharmacists have yet to
receive the money to cover prescriptions issued in April.
The
National Organization for Healthcare Provision (EOPYY) had promised to
pay out half of the money pharmacists were owed for April but Lourandos
said that Athens pharmacies had only received 28 percent of what they
were due. This amounts to 18 million euros rather than 30 million.
However,
as of Monday, 28 of the 54 pharmacists’ associations around the country
had called off their protests. In most areas outside Athens, pharmacies
have received half of the April money they were promised.
This
has led to the Panhellenic Pharmacists’ Association calling on its
members to end their action. “EOPYY was obliged to pay the amount for
April by June 25,” the association said in a statement. “The fact that
we were paid a significant amount earlier is extremely positive. We will
monitor the situation and return to action if EOPYY proves not to be
punctual.”
The group also called on its members to provide details
about the money they are owed by social security funds so it can file a
complaint with the European Commission to protest the delays in
payment. EOPYY and the funds whose healthcare services have been
incorporated under the umbrella organization owe roughly 250 million
euros to pharmacists. This includes some prescriptions from last year
that have yet to be settled.
The protest by pharmacists means that some drugs have only been available at the limited number of pharmacies run by EOPYY. | 
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