Austerity and Health Insurance in Greece.
In general, Greece has a typically European system of health insurance: universal coverage through employer-employee contributions to a government-run insurance system. Furthermore, the Greek unemployment benefits system also includes one year of health insurance free of charge. Historically, once those unemployment benefits ran out, Greek hospitals would still treat unemployed patients for free.
Now, however, austerity measures agreed to by Greece in exchange for bailouts have forced hospitals to quit offering free care to the long-term unemployed. According to the agreement, unemployed Greeks whose benefits run out are forced to pay for healthcare expenses out of their own pockets. This is a dire problem right now in Greece, what with unemployment running at around 25% overall, and 54% for young people.
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