GESY ... clear as mud

Discuss medical issues, and help each other navigate the available options for the Health Service in Cyprus.
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MacManiac
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Location: Argaka, near Polis

GESY ... clear as mud

Post by MacManiac »

I wonder whether anyone else is as confused as I am about GESY. Apparently contributions are to be collected from 1st March this year, but it is not clear how this is to be done.

We are both permanent residents here, and both are in receipt of a UK State Pension. Therefore, up to press, the UK have paid for our healthcare here. Throw in the confusion regarding Brexit, and nobody seems to know what will happen. After reports that hospital pharmacies will no longer deal with outpatients, I asked my pharmacist in Polis what was likely to happen. He explained that prescriptions issued by the hospital would be filled by pharmacists like him, and there were a variety of charges. But, he cautioned, after Brexit it would be “very different” for British residents.

He is a lovely man, his son is studying pharmacy at Sussex University, and he has a regard for all things British. But he cannot see the way forward at the moment.

I asked the GP I normally see at the local hospital about GESY. He rolled his eyes and said he thought the new system was dramatically underfunded, and was a “******* shambles”.

So what will happen after the end of this month? Everybody I ask suggests something different.
trevnhil
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Re: GESY ... clear as mud

Post by trevnhil »

I too have tried to get some answers from a Doctors and a Pharmacy.. Really I am not much wiser...
Both my wife and I have put our names down at the Private Doctors we use.. But that is about all I know..
Trev..
Polly
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Re: GESY ... clear as mud

Post by Polly »

If you sign with a private doctor in the scheme I take it you don't pay the private doctor's fee you do now? If you have a prescription from a private doctor in the scheme how long is the prescription valid for eg at the GH it's two months as we know? Does anyone know that?
trevnhil
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Re: GESY ... clear as mud

Post by trevnhil »

I think you do have a fee to pay the doctor, but not as much as you do now. I am not sure how many months a doctor will give you a prescription for.. But it is not a standard 2 month at the moment. Some Hospital doctors will give you a prescription to cover 3 months..
What I have been told is that you will pay the pharmacy per box of tablets not 50c for each item on the prescription..
Trev..
lefkes
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Re: GESY ... clear as mud

Post by lefkes »

trevnhil wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 9:59 am I think you do have a fee to pay the doctor, but not as much as you do now. I am not sure how many months a doctor will give you a prescription for.. But it is not a standard 2 month at the moment. Some Hospital doctors will give you a prescription to cover 3 months..
What I have been told is that you will pay the pharmacy per box of tablets not 50c for each item on the prescription..
I take 9 types of medication per day ,some three times a day ,some twice .At fifty cent an item this cost me 4 euros fifty cents for 3 months supply from the general hospital. Theses come in 24 boxes and if I have to pay 1 euro per box as been suggested this is going to be quite an extra expense. Lefkes
Polly
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Re: GESY ... clear as mud

Post by Polly »

Following on from my earlier post - does anyone know that if you register with a private doctor who refers you for a test e.g. blood test, a scan etc, and these providers are not registered with GESY, do we have to pay the full price or a NHS price?

I am not registered with a private GP at present but for convenience it would cut out the hassle at the General Hospital, however; I don't want to let myself in for paying extra.
Alewfin
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Re: GESY ... clear as mud

Post by Alewfin »

HIC

'..We could alternatively do it online...'

How does a Beneficiary do this as I haven't found an entry point in the GESY website to do this ?
galexinda
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Re: GESY ... clear as mud

Post by galexinda »

Alewfin - this should work:

Use this link: https://www.gesy.org.cy/sites/Sites?d=D ... CD7OCEsSXM

On the home page of the website there are two icons in the lower left half of the page underneath Register as a Provider: 'Providers Portal' and 'Create an Account'.

Click on the 'Providers Portal'
Enter User Name and Password
Complete the 'I'm not a robot' section
Login
You will receive a code on your mobile phone saying you are not a Provider and you will then be directed to the Beneficiary Portal and receive another code on your mobile phone. Instructions then to enter as a Beneficiary.
galexinda
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Location: Paphos

Re: GESY ... clear as mud

Post by galexinda »

Popped in to see Dr Dora this morning as we had been told by the clinic to make an appointment to register with her.

However, at the moment you can only put your names down - she cannot enter your details on the system because the List of Doctors has not been entered onto the GESY website yet.

As we have registered on-line she has told us that she will inform us when the Doctor's List is accessible so we can complete the process on-line.
Alewfin
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Re: GESY ... clear as mud

Post by Alewfin »

galexinda wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 8:11 pm Alewfin - this should work:

Use this link: https://www.gesy.org.cy/sites/Sites?d=D ... CD7OCEsSXM

On the home page of the website there are two icons in the lower left half of the page underneath Register as a Provider: 'Providers Portal' and 'Create an Account'.

Click on the 'Providers Portal'
Enter User Name and Password
Complete the 'I'm not a robot' section
Login
You will receive a code on your mobile phone saying you are not a Provider and you will then be directed to the Beneficiary Portal and receive another code on your mobile phone. Instructions then to enter as a Beneficiary.
Many thanks.

I received an email to say that the IASIS was going to become part of GESY.

Therefore after a tortuous process my wife and I are now registered and enrolled as beneficiaries to GESY.

The process is not for the faint hearted. At one point I rang GESY and was told that if I select 'E - S1' in Entitlement I would not have to pay GESY. I'm presuming that's because the UK NHS is paying. How long this lasts nobody knows.

A peculiarity is that GESY require a copy of our S1s even though we had previously submitted our S1s in order to get our Cyprus Health Card some years ago. The other part of the S1 was returned to the UK. Unfortunately I never took a copy. I rang the UK office and they will post duplicates.
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Mrblobby
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Re: GESY ... clear as mud

Post by Mrblobby »

The part about requiring a copy of the S1 is interesting .

When I completed our registration I received confirmation PD , no mention of required copy of our S1 ?

Time will tell when we come to register at a doctor .
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jeba
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Re: GESY ... clear as mud

Post by jeba »

Would be interesting to know about the terms under which doctors will be allowed to treat you. Will they be free to treat you as they deem fit or will there be restrictions e. g. regarding which procedures, treatments, medication will be paid for? Will you as a patient even learn about those restrictions? Will you be able to pay just for any upgrades you want to enjoy (e. g. general anesthesia instead of local one) with basic cost covered by GESY? Will there be insurance available to cover the cost of such upgrades e. g. choose a hospital which offers private rooms instead of one which is part of GESY and just pay the balance between what Gesy will pay and the actual cost?

To be honest I´m quite sceptical given the obvious underfunding of the system. Also that a doctor can have 2000 patients enrolled sounds way too many to me. What is that number in the UK?
Galini
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Re: GESY ... clear as mud

Post by Galini »

I would also like to know how this affects someone who is not of UK pension age but is in receipt of a private pension. This means we are classed as 'Pensioners' on our Tax Returns (but of course not entitled to health care via the S1 route). Unless we are also working here then we are not paying into the Cyprus Social fund either. At the moment this means we have to have private medical insurance, but are able to go to any doctor or private clinic we choose.

What I would like to know is how GESY will affect this? As 'Pensioners' on our Tax returns, will we be expected to pay the same % of our income as the pensioners receiving their state pensions? Will we be able to register with a GP in the same way ? OR will we still need to maintain our private health insurance cover?

I cannot find anything in all of the GESY information that covers this situation - Unless anyone on here can point me in the right direction.
jeba
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Re: GESY ... clear as mud

Post by jeba »

Galini wrote: Thu Apr 18, 2019 8:16 am I would also like to know how this affects someone who is not of UK pension age but is in receipt of a private pension. This means we are classed as 'Pensioners' on our Tax Returns (but of course not entitled to health care via the S1 route). Unless we are also working here then we are not paying into the Cyprus Social fund either. At the moment this means we have to have private medical insurance, but are able to go to any doctor or private clinic we choose.

What I would like to know is how GESY will affect this? As 'Pensioners' on our Tax returns, will we be expected to pay the same % of our income as the pensioners receiving their state pensions? Will we be able to register with a GP in the same way ? OR will we still need to maintain our private health insurance cover?

I cannot find anything in all of the GESY information that covers this situation - Unless anyone on here can point me in the right direction.
That´s an email I received from info@gesy.org.cy:
Joining the General Healthcare System is not obligatory, however, if you receive an income you are obliged to pay a contribution. Kindly note that in case you are not a tax resident of Cyprus, you will pay contributions only for the income, earnings and pensions that derive from the Republic of Cyprus, excluding dividends and interest.
As I understand it as a tax resident you´ll have to pay whether or not you join the system (unless you have a S1). In a separate email they pointed out that this applies even to non-dom tax residents.
Alewfin
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Re: GESY ... clear as mud

Post by Alewfin »

I checked our GESY records today after completing the Registration and Enrolment process yesterday.

The Status said that the HIO had rejected the Enrolment but approved the Registration. Another part of the Status said that the Enrolment was 'Pending Approval'. Odd.

I rang GESY for clarification. The simple answer given was that the system is not live for Beneficiaries and therefore nothing is certain. Best to wait for the official announcement and if still rejected, apply again.

Whilst on the phone the GESY chap confirmed what the previous GESY person had said that I could select either one of the two Eligibility Categories (S1 holder or permanent resident) where the S1 holder does not have to pay but the permanent resident does. Curious.

I'm assuming that the advice the GESY call centre operatives are giving is misleading because an S1 holder may not be a permanent resident (MEU3) but could be Cyprus tax payer and therefore should pay.
jeba
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Re: GESY ... clear as mud

Post by jeba »

Alewfin wrote: Thu Apr 18, 2019 1:07 pm I'm assuming that the advice the GESY call centre operatives are giving is misleading because an S1 holder may not be a permanent resident (MEU3) but could be Cyprus tax payer and therefore should pay.
Why should a S1 holder not be a permanent resident? Even as a Cyprus tax payer you´ll not have to pay contributions to GESY if you have a S1.
Alewfin
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Re: GESY ... clear as mud

Post by Alewfin »

jeba wrote: Thu Apr 18, 2019 6:15 pm
Alewfin wrote: Thu Apr 18, 2019 1:07 pm I'm assuming that the advice the GESY call centre operatives are giving is misleading because an S1 holder may not be a permanent resident (MEU3) but could be Cyprus tax payer and therefore should pay.
Why should a S1 holder not be a permanent resident? Even as a Cyprus tax payer you´ll not have to pay contributions to GESY if you have a S1.
I will write to GESY to seek clarification as to why someone (like myself) does not have to pay GESY because I hold a S1 but a permanent resident has to pay even though I hold a MEU3 and are a Cyprus tax payer and must therefore be regarded as a permanent resident.
jeba
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Re: GESY ... clear as mud

Post by jeba »

Alewfin wrote: Thu Apr 18, 2019 6:54 pm
jeba wrote: Thu Apr 18, 2019 6:15 pm
Alewfin wrote: Thu Apr 18, 2019 1:07 pm I'm assuming that the advice the GESY call centre operatives are giving is misleading because an S1 holder may not be a permanent resident (MEU3) but could be Cyprus tax payer and therefore should pay.
Why should a S1 holder not be a permanent resident? Even as a Cyprus tax payer you´ll not have to pay contributions to GESY if you have a S1.
I will write to GESY to seek clarification as to why someone (like myself) does not have to pay GESY because I hold a S1 but a permanent resident has to pay even though I hold a MEU3 and are a Cyprus tax payer and must therefore be regarded as a permanent resident.
I´d say it´s obviously because S1 holders must either have insurance from their home country (like myself, being a German pensioner with compulsory German insurance) in order to be issued a S1 or because Cyprus will be compensated for the cost of S1 holders´healthcare (either by Cypriots being provided free healthcare in the respective EU country or direct financial compensation).
Galini
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Re: GESY ... clear as mud

Post by Galini »

jeba wrote: Thu Apr 18, 2019 8:45 am
That´s an email I received from info@gesy.org.cy:
Joining the General Healthcare System is not obligatory, however, if you receive an income you are obliged to pay a contribution. Kindly note that in case you are not a tax resident of Cyprus, you will pay contributions only for the income, earnings and pensions that derive from the Republic of Cyprus, excluding dividends and interest.
As I understand it as a tax resident you´ll have to pay whether or not you join the system (unless you have a S1). In a separate email they pointed out that this applies even to non-dom tax residents.
Thanks jeba - from that it looks like we can choose whether to register under GESY or continue paying for private cover as well as paying the obligatory % of income. Hmmm, needs careful thought as, nice as it would be to save the annual premium for private cover, I am not convinced yet that the GESY/State system will be able to offer the same level of care (or more importantly, the timeliness of receiving treatment)
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Mrblobby
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Re: GESY ... clear as mud

Post by Mrblobby »

Alewfin wrote: Wed Apr 17, 2019 10:48 pm A peculiarity is that GESY require a copy of our S1s even though we had previously submitted our S1s in order to get our Cyprus Health Card some years ago. The other part of the S1 was returned to the UK. Unfortunately I never took a copy. I rang the UK office and they will post duplicates.
Thanks for the warning about needing a copy of the S1 , although I have not been asked for it yet .

I have managed to find my copy , 2011 , how the years are flying by .
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