Key points
- Greece runs the Beveridge model: a National Health System (ESY), funded by general government revenues and mandatory contributions.
- Coverage is effectively universal: all citizens and legal residents are covered, through a single purchaser, EOPYY; undocumented migrants typically have access only to emergency care.
- Care is delivered by public hospitals for inpatient care and by a mix of public and private providers for ambulatory and diagnostic services, contracted by EOPYY.
- Patients pay co-payments on medicines, tests and visits to private contracted providers, with no annual ceiling; households paid 34.3% of health spending out of pocket in 2023 (WHO Global Health Expenditure Database).
- Life expectancy at birth was 81.8 years in 2023, and health spending was 8.1% of GDP in 2024 (OECD Health at a Glance 2025).
Direct answer: Greece runs the Beveridge model: a National Health System (ESY), funded by general government revenues and mandatory contributions channelled through a single purchaser — the National Organisation for the Provision of Health Services (EOPYY). Coverage is effectively universal: all citizens and legal residents are covered, while undocumented migrants typically have access only to emergency care. EOPYY contracts with public and private providers to offer a unified benefits package of preventive, primary and secondary care. Patients pay co-payments on medicines, tests and visits to private contracted providers, with no annual ceiling on total co-payments, and households paid 34.3% of health spending out of pocket in 2023 (WHO Global Health Expenditure Database). Life expectancy at birth was 81.8 years in 2023 — and healthy life expectancy 69.8 years — and health spending was 8.1% of GDP in 2024 (OECD Health at a Glance 2025; WHO Global Health Estimates, October 2026).
At a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Model | Beveridge — national health service (ESY) |
| Who pays | General government revenues and mandatory contributions, channelled through the single purchaser EOPYY; the Ministry of Health regulates the system |
| Who delivers | Public hospitals for inpatient care; public and private providers contracted by EOPYY for ambulatory and diagnostic services; local health units and health centres for primary care |
| What is free at the point of use | Public hospital and primary care under the unified benefits package; patients pay co-payments on medicines, tests and private contracted providers, with no annual ceiling |
| Life expectancy at birth | 81.8 years (2023, OECD Health at a Glance 2025) |
| Health spending | 8.1% of GDP (2024, OECD Health at a Glance 2025) |
| Source for the model and coverage | State of Health in the EU: Country Health Profile 2025: Greece (OECD and European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies) |
Figures are a snapshot checked 7 November 2026, not a live feed. No country is ranked as best.
How the system works
Greece’s health system is centrally administered, providing coverage for all citizens and legal residents. Undocumented migrants typically have access only to emergency care. The National Health System is funded by general government revenues and mandatory contributions channelled through a single purchaser — the National Organisation for the Provision of Health Services (EOPYY). The Ministry of Health exercises extensive regulatory authority, setting national health policies, supervising public hospitals and overseeing health professionals.
EOPYY contracts with both public and private providers to offer a unified benefits package, which includes preventive, primary and secondary care. Although public hospitals are the main providers of inpatient services, the private sector continues to play a substantial role in delivering ambulatory and diagnostic services. Since 2017, health reforms have focused on strengthening community-level primary care — particularly by expanding local health units and health centres to boost preventive care, health promotion and early detection of chronic conditions.
Who pays, and what people pay
General government revenues and mandatory contributions pay for the system, but the public share is thin: it stood at only 61% of health expenditure in 2023, the second-lowest proportion in the EU, where the average was 80%. Mandatory prepayment covered 61% of spending (OECD Health at a Glance 2025). What patients pay is substantial: co-payments are levied on diagnostic and laboratory tests, outpatient medicines and visits to private providers contracted by EOPYY. Households paid 34.3% of health spending out of pocket in 2023, among the highest rates in the EU. Reduced co-payment rates or exemptions apply to some medicines for specific conditions and population groups, such as low-income pensioners, but there is no annual ceiling on total co-payments. Voluntary health insurance contributed 5% of health expenditure in 2023, with many supplementary plans promising faster access to private diagnostics or specialty care.
What is free, and what is not
Free at the point of use: public hospital care and primary care under the unified benefits package, and medicines with a 0% co-payment rate for the conditions that qualify. What is not free is the margin, and it is wide: medicines carry co-payments of 0%, 10% or 25% of the list price by therapeutic value and disease severity, and only 52% of retail pharmaceutical spending is publicly covered — patients directly contribute 48%. Over one third (37%) of all out-of-pocket spending in 2023 was on pharmaceuticals and medical aids, and inpatient care accounted for 34% of it — by far the highest proportion of out-of-pocket spending on hospital care in the EU. Dental care is barely covered at all: the data show 0% public coverage, which likely reflects very high rates of unmet need for dental care rather than care that is free.
How it compares
Greece spends 8.1% of GDP on health — below the OECD average of 9.3% — and $3,607 per person, below the OECD average of $5,967 (USD PPP, 2024). Its life expectancy of 81.8 years is 0.7 years above the OECD average of 81.1 years (OECD Health at a Glance 2025). Its distinguishing feature is the gap between the promise and the bill: a universal system on paper, in which households still pay 34.3% of health spending out of pocket — and inpatient care alone takes 43% of all health spending, far above the EU average of 28%. Greece also has 6.6 doctors per 1,000 people, the highest figure in the OECD table — though the OECD notes the Greek count includes all licensed doctors, so it overstates practising numbers — against only 3.8 nurses per 1,000. Compare countries side by side in the Health System Comparison tool, or read the other profiles in the country index.
Frequently asked questions
Is Greek healthcare free?
Public hospital and primary care are covered, but patients pay co-payments on diagnostic and laboratory tests, outpatient medicines and visits to private providers contracted by EOPYY — and much of the bill for services outside the benefits package falls on households directly.
What is EOPYY?
The National Organisation for the Provision of Health Services: the single purchaser that channels general government revenues and mandatory contributions into one unified benefits package, contracting with public and private providers to deliver it.
What do Greek patients pay for medicines?
Co-payments of 0%, 10% or 25% of the list price, depending on therapeutic value and disease severity, with reduced rates or exemptions for some conditions and groups such as low-income pensioners. Only 52% of retail pharmaceutical spending is publicly covered — patients pay the other 48%.