The Minister of Public Health in the caretaker government, Firas Abiad, announced the new tariffs that the Ministry of Public Health will implement "to ease the burden on citizens in light of the extremely difficult financial conditions in Lebanon, particularly affecting the health and hospital sectors." He noted that "this has become possible after increasing the health care budget of the Ministry of Public Health from 450 billion Lebanese pounds to 2,600 billion."
During a press conference held at the ministry, Abiad explained the new decisions that have been signed and will be implemented as follows:
- Increasing health coverage for hospitals by six times, which includes doctors' fees, dialysis treatment, and several laboratory tests.
- In addition to this increase, the support program being implemented with the World Bank to support the health care bills paid by the Ministry of Public Health will continue, which will ultimately raise the tariffs charged by hospitals by eight times, aimed at reducing the differences hospitals charge citizens.
- Abiad pointed out that the program with the World Bank includes an agreement with an independent auditing company to review the bills and ensure no manipulation occurs.
- There will be efforts to accelerate the payment of bills for hospitals by the ministry as the guarantor, through speeding up the annual contract registration process between hospitals and the ministry in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and the Audit Bureau. It is noted that there can be expedited auditing and completion of certain specified bills like dialysis bills and cut-off invoices, allowing payments to be secured within a few months.
Abiad emphasized that with the great importance the Ministry of Public Health places on protecting citizens, "the work of health inspectors and hospital inspectors will be enhanced." He highlighted that a new program is being prepared under the supervision of the Medical Care Directorate, where inspectors in all Lebanese regions will ensure the quality of hospital services and the accuracy of the charges required from citizens. This program will coincide with the reactivation of the Ministry of Public Health's hotline after securing funding, which will facilitate communication between citizens and the ministry.
In the context of enhancing the role of public hospitals, the Minister of Public Health announced a proposal he will submit for government approval regarding the redistribution of financial ceilings for hospitals, which will result in a greater role for public hospitals and ensure that the amounts these hospitals charge citizens are lower than those required by private hospitals. Abiad stated that this program is considered one of the most important initiatives the ministry is studying, which would not have been possible without the increase in funding in the new budget.
Abiad acknowledged that these measures and decisions "unfortunately will not cover all costs, as the increase approved in the budget does not cover the huge rise in the dollar in the black market, but undoubtedly, what has been achieved is a very significant step in the right direction, and it will be followed by further steps in the future to support patients, particularly cancer and dialysis patients, and others to receive the services they deserve."
