Hi there,
I am not an expert on the matter but I am a Greek citizen and I have
served on the Greek army. (One year service duty is compulsory in
Greece for all male population).
Greece has a state run Healthcare system. All Greek citizens are
insured to the state owned insurance and pension organizations. The
insurance fees are paid by the employers and if they fail to do so the
fines are huge. Even if the employer fails to pay the state is
covering all the fees until the money is retrieved.
The services are very good. Free access to all state hospitals and
some private ones is the standard. In other private hospitals and
doctors the state is covering part of the expenses. This participation
of the state depends on the seriousness of the illness. Medication is
also in principal free. What is actually happening is that the
government pays a small proportion of very simple drugs for simple
illnesses. Fro example in a common cold it wont cover anything apart
from the doctor and in heart disease, cancer or HIV?etc it covers the
whole amount of the treatment. Obviously tests, surgery and whatever
else is needed is again free or there is a small participation on
behalf of the patient.
In case you do not work you are either covered from a family member
that works or the government puts you in a special program for the
pour and in this case it covers everything.
Transportation for patients is free, including airlifts by helicopters
or airplanes in case it is needed. All transportation means for
patients are owned by the state. Airlifts are very common from the
Greek islands.
The Greek healthcare system also covers treatment abroad. Of course
there are some limitations but if you can not be treated in Greece you
are send abroad. To this aspect EU makes things much easier since all
EU citizens have free access to all state hospitals across the EU. The
expenses of one family member who accompanies the patient are also
covered.
As I told you military service is compulsory in Greece. So you have
two categories of people that are serving the army. The officers that
actually are working in the army and the simple citizens that just go
to the army for a year. For both categories the healthcare services
are the same. They have free access to all civilian and military
hospitals. In their case the coverage of expenses is even greater.
I can give you more information for the civilians that serve the army.
For this year the army is covering everything for them. It provides
them with clothes, uniforms, food and lodging. It also covers all the
transportation expenses when they are visiting their families on
vacation. There is a salary but it is actually symbolic and amounts
only 10 euros per month. Transportation for short leaves for just a
couple of hours is also covered by the army. Of course if you come
from a pour family etc etc the salary gets much bigger. If you are a
civilian officer the salary can reach the amount of 800euros per month
including some benefits.
The professionals in the army are not entitled food or lodging. There
are houses for officers that are rented to them with a minimal fee.
They get food only when they have to stay in the military camp for
more than a day. They get uniforms every two years and they have to
pay extra for really formal uniforms. They also get compensation every
time they are transferred to another unit to cover moving and other
expenses. In many locations in Greece there are officer?s clubs where
they can go for their vacations with really minimal fees as well as
officer?s restaurants.
I hope you found my information helpful. |
