House extends funding for Okypy deficits

The House plenum on Thursday gave the nod to extending by one more year the provision of government grants to cover the deficits of the state health services organisation, or Okypy.

As such, the government can now keep plugging Okypy’s deficits up until May 31 of 2025. The bill passed just a day after the cabinet had approved it.

Akel tabled an amendment of its own, that would have extended state funding of the organisation’s deficits by two years. The amendment was defeated.

Earlier this week, the government said it had decided to keep covering Okypy’s deficits to secure the “public interest”, given that the organisation is a core provider within the national health system, or Gesy.

Okypy also got a pass because, as government officials put it, the organisation had taken a hit to its normal functioning during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Under the rules of Gesy, state-run healthcare providers ought to have been financially self-sufficient by now, requiring no cash injections from the state.

On the House floor, Disy MPs – who voted for the funding extension – took the opportunity to wave off accusations that their party is intent on privatising public healthcare.

They said their track record proves that Disy does not oppose Gesy, but rather supports it and wants the system to succeed.