Pharmacists call for government to settle 1bln-euro debt
The head of Greece’s pharmacists’ association, Constantinos Lourandos, has called on the country’s coalition leaders to find a way to settle the state’s debts to pharmacies when they meet on Tuesday evening.
Lourandos said pharmacists, who were on the second day of a 48-hour-strike on Tuesday, were expecting the debts of the National Organization for Healthcare Provision (EOPYY) to be settled by the end of the year.
“At today’s meeting, they should discuss the issue of EOPYY,” he told Skai TV. “No company will give us credit. We are due to receive 900 million euros to 1 billion euros from EOPYY by the end of the year.”
Lourantos said pharmacists were still owed money from 2011 even though they had been taxed on these earnings.
“We have a duty to provide medicines to insured customers but they have paid their contributions, EOPYY has taken them and is not paying us,” he added.
