Police officers chant slogans, during a protest outside the finance ministry in Athens, on Friday Aug. 31 2012. Police associations staged the protest against a new round of public sector pay cuts expected as part of a massive new Greek austerity package needed for the crisis-hit country to continue receiving bailout loan installments. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)
ATHENS, Greece - Private doctors working with Greece's largest state-run healthcare provider have started charging their patients, in protest at the organization's unpaid bills.
A doctors' association said the action against the provider EOPYY started Monday and will last at least five days. Pharmacists launched a similar protest at the weekend, refusing to hand out prescriptions from the state-backed insurer.
Greece's coalition government is preparing a new round of cuts, worth at least €11.5 billion ($14.4 billion) for 2012-13, demanded by the country's international rescue creditors. It has fallen behind on paying its public health costs, among other payments, in an effort to restrain the budget deficit.
