“I hope that in 2020, which will be an equally difficult year, we will go ahead with the successful implementation of Gesy’s second phase, which at the end of the day aims to improve the level of service towards Cypriot patients so that they have equal, universal access,” Ioannou said.

He added: “The people are already experiencing this and they understand it and it is very important.”

The Health Insurance Organisation is currently in talks with the association of private hospitals regarding their participation as secondary healthcare providers starting in June 2020.

Ioannou said the aim was to come to an agreement in the next few days but he made it clear that the core architecture of the system will not be changing.

“At this stage, we do not agree with any ideas that change the philosophy and architecture,” he said.

The minister said talks were going well but declined to comment further pending the negotiations.

“I hope there will be a final deal in the next days.”

Introduced in June this year, Gesy is still experiencing teething problems although it has been generally embraced by the people.

Last week, parties decided to discuss the matter, prompting criticism, as many politicians are seen as opponents of the scheme, serving other interests.

The health minister said they were aware of the concerns and were working on improving the system.

Source: Cyprus Mail