The Right to Healthcare is Now Denied Even to the Wealthy

The head of the private hospitals association, Sulaiman Haroun, expressed regret over the state of the healthcare sector, noting that several factors are affecting the productivity of the sector. These include the public sector strike and the halt of transactions with the official guarantor entities, the bank strikes, the inability to withdraw funds to pay suppliers, the continuous rise of the exchange rate, and the inability to settle bills. In an interview with the Voice of Lebanon, Haroun warned that these factors have led to a near-complete halt in providing healthcare services, especially since medical supplies and equipment importers only accept payments in fresh dollars or its equivalent in the black market at the time of delivery, while hospitals are unable to access their funds in banks. Haroun clarified that hospitals charge patients an amount in fresh dollars to cover the difference in bills with the guarantor entities, adding that this measure is no longer sufficient, and they are stuck in a vicious cycle, with even the wealthy now unable to secure their right to healthcare.