Healthcare Access Inequalities and Structural Challenges in Greece: A Policy Analysis using Eurostat Indicators

Background
Timely access to healthcare remains a major challenge for many European health systems. Greece has consistently reported high levels of unmet healthcare needs, reflecting broader structural weaknesses affecting equity, continuity of care, and health system performance.
Aim
To examine trends and inequalities in healthcare access in Greece using Eurostat indicators and complementary evidence from OECD, WHO, and European Observatory reports.
Methods
A descriptive policy analysis was conducted using Eurostat indicators on unmet healthcare needs, socioeconomic inequalities, labour market inequalities, and regional disparities between 2016 and 2025. Comparative evidence from OECD, WHO, and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies was used to interpret the structural characteristics of the Greek healthcare system.
Results
Greece consistently reported higher levels of unmet healthcare needs than the EU average, with marked socioeconomic, employment-related, and regional inequalities. Persistently high out-of-pocket expenditure, fragmentation between levels of care, and comparatively weak primary healthcare coordination emerged as key structural challenges affecting equitable access to healthcare.
Conclusions
The findings suggest that improving healthcare access in Greece requires strengthening primary healthcare, enhancing care coordination, reducing regional and socioeconomic inequalities, and promoting more integrated governance supported by systematic monitoring of health system performance.