The second phase of the General Health System officially begins on March 1, 2020 after the first "act" is activated for the full implementation of the System by increasing the contributions that employees, employers, self-employed and the State pay to the Health Fund. The start date of the payment of increased contributions as well as the total amount of contributions are determined by the legislation for the GESS and the percentages have been agreed during the consultations that took place before the adoption of the law in 2017.
The increase in salary cuts, of course, is aimed at strengthening the GESS Fund, which must have the necessary liquidity to be able to meet the increased needs that will arise from June 1, with the inclusion of new health services, including of inpatient care in the System.
In practice, from March 2019 until February 29, 2020, the contribution of employees to the GESS fund is determined by law at 1,7% of their salaries. That is, in the salary that will be paid at the end of February to the employees, the cuts for GESS will remain at 1,7%. However, in the salary that will be paid at the end of March, the percentage of the cut, which corresponds to the employee's contribution to GESS, will rise to 2,65%.
For example, an employee who receives a € 1.000 monthly salary has been paying € 17 to the GESS since last March. With the increase of the percentage to 2,65%, he will pay € 26,50 per month to GESS.
The same percentages apply to the groups of pensioners and state officials who until now have paid 1,7% of their salaries and from March 1 will pay 2,65%.
Correspondingly, of course, the employers' contributions for their employees also increase. To date, employers pay for each employee a contribution equal to 1,85% of the employee's salary. That is, for an employee who receives € 1.000 per month, his employer pays € 18,50 on his behalf. From March 1 onwards, the employers' contribution rate rises to 2,90%. This means that the € 18,50 paid by the employer will rise to € 29.
The same percentages, with the corresponding increase from March 1, are paid by the bodies that are considered responsible for the payment of salaries to officials (eg mayors).
Regarding the self-employed, from March 2019 until the end of February 2020, the amount of their contribution to GESS is set at 2,55% on their monthly salary. From March 1, this percentage increases to 4%. In the category of "income", which mainly concerns rents, interest and dividends that are added to the income of the beneficiaries of GESS and are also taxed for the purposes of the System, the percentage from 1,70% until the end of February increases to 2,65% from March 1, 2020.
Contributions to the GESS are also paid by the State, which in fact contributes for each beneficiary separately, whether he belongs to the category of employees, or is an independent employee or retiree or even an official. The contribution of the State during the first phase of implementation of the GESS reached 1,65% on the salaries of employees, the self-employed, officials and pensions. From March 1, the State contribution rises to 4,7%.
The competent departments / services for the collection and / or withholding and payment of the contributions to the GESS Fund are the Department of Social Insurance, the Department of Taxation and the General Accounting Office of the Republic depending on the category of the beneficiary.
For the salaries of civil servants, the withholding / payment of the employee and employer (State) contribution is made by the General Accounting Office of the State. For the salaries of the other employees, the withholding and payment of the employee and the employer's contribution is done by the employer in the Social Insurance Department.
For the pensions of the Social Insurance Fund for social pension, the withholding of the contribution is also done by the Department of Social Insurance, while for pensions from the Fixed Fund (excluding the social pension) the process is handled by the General Accounting Office of the State. For pensions from another natural or legal person or fund in Cyprus, the payment of the contribution to the Tax Department is made by the Fund that pays the pension. Finally, for pensions from abroad, the payment of the contribution is made by the pensioner to the Tax Department through the process of self-taxation.
The services of GESS are increasing
Inpatient care, care by health professionals
With the full implementation of the General Health System on June 1, 2020, the beneficiaries of the System will have at their disposal, inpatient services (surgeries, hospitalization, etc.), Accident and Emergency Services services and Emergency Services. are covered by the GESS. The System will also offer services from nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, clinical psychologists, clinical dieticians, etc., as well as palliative care and rehabilitation services. In addition, GESS will cover a dental cleaning every year for each beneficiary for prevention purposes.
The procedures for the full implementation of GESS are at an advanced stage since the Health Insurance Organization has recently been in consultation with all the bodies representing the groups of health professionals who will offer their services through the System. The negotiation of the Organization with the private hospitals, which have expressed interest in consulting their inclusion in the GESS, is also in progress.
This process concerns a total of 45 hospitals that operate in all provinces. A similar consultation is underway between the OAY and the Organization of Public Health Services for the integration of public hospitals in the System.
Source: philenews