European Policy Analysis
Greek health expenditures are illustrated in Figure 2 ( OECD Health Statistics , 2016 ), which shows the health expenditures per capita and in current prices in Euros . The total reduction of health expenditures in Greece has been stable every year from 2009 to 2014 , but the big reduction of public expenditures through these years (€ - 693.7 from 2009 to 2014 ) in comparison to the reduction of the private expenditures for the health ( just € -108.3 for the same years ) is remarkable .
Key Actors in the Health System of Greece . One goal of the reforms of the health sector during the crisis years in Greece was the decentralization of it . However , this goal has not been achieved and the state remains the dominant actor in the health care system , whichh is still characterized by strong centralization ( Economou et al . 2014 , 19 ). The state is the center of political decisions for the health system and controls the formation of its manpower , as already mentioned , through the Ministry of Health — which plans the personnel in public health services and edits the lists for the medical specialization trainings at the public hospitals — and also through the Ministry of Social Insurance and Social Solidarity , by issuing the physicians ’ licences . Even the issue of the number of medical students in Greek universities is the responsibility of the Ministry of Education , Research and Religious Affairs , which defines how many students can be enrolled in each medical school annually . These fields concern the manpower of the public health sector , and therefore they are important and relevant fields for the research of this migration case .
The dominance of the state in Greece provides no space for the physicians ’ bodies in the field of decision-making for the health sector . Although every physician in
Greece should be a member of his regional physician chamber , only the Panhellenic Medical Association and the Athenian Medical Association have a consultant role in the Ministry of Health ( Economou 2010 , 36 ). This fact forced the physicians ’ chambers to take on the role of veto-player in the Greek political field . The physicians ’ workforce has been the most important actor in blocking governmental reforms concerning the health sector in comparison to other medical health personnel by defending their interests ( Mosialos and Allin 2005 , 431 ).
Subjective Motivations Leading to Emigration from Greece
In the following passage the subjective motivations of the interviewed physicians that forced them to leave the country ( push factors ) will be presented as they were expressed during the interviews .
After graduation from a medical school in Greece , the interviewees , like every graduate of medical school , are supposed to complete their specialization training . This requirement appears to be a crucial factor in their decision to migrate , because at the same time the Greek public hospitals could not provide sufficient vacancies for medical specialization training . Therefore , the medical graduates , after their application for medical specialization training in the Greek health sector , would be registered and put on a waiting list . However , the waiting period varied from one hospital to another , depending on the number of applications received for the training and the existing medical personnel in specific medical specializations . 4 Almost all the interviewees stated that the main reason for the decision to leave Greece was the waiting time for medical specialist training ,
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