The Administration and Justice Committee held a session today, Tuesday, chaired by its president, MP George Adwan, with the presence of the committee's rapporteur, MP George Attallah, and MPs: Bilal Abdullah, George Okais, Marwan Hamadeh, Qablan Qablan, Ghada Ayoub, Ali Hassan Khalil, Hussein al-Haj Hassan, Emad al-Hout, Ghazi Zaiter, Melhem Khalaf, Halima Qaqour, Firas Hamdan, Taha Naji, Bilal Hashimi, and Yassin Yassin.
The committee, in a statement, announced that it "began its session by continuing the study of the draft law aimed at combating unlawful profits in the medical and healthcare sectors." It was noted that the committee had previously started studying this proposal, and two opinions emerged among the members: one opinion considered that this proposal is necessary due to the suffering of many patients from the practices of some workers in the medical and healthcare sectors, indicating that the issue is not limited to doctors or hospitals but encompasses all medical fields from laboratories to radiology, medical supplies, and others. The other opinion suggested the need to study the possibility of merging this proposal with the proposal to combat corruption in the private sector, in addition to an opinion that deemed the matter related to a sound health policy adopted by the Lebanese state that preserves the citizen's right to health security.
The statement added: "The committee continued in this session to discuss the opinions expressed, citing some opinions with comparative laws, especially French law, where it became evident that there is specific legislation in this area. There was an opinion expressed in this session that considered the proposal, as aimed, is essential to protect citizens in case of illness and to ensure the necessary care for them without exploitation. Accordingly, the possibility of amending existing laws related to this issue, which may involve more than one law, can be studied."
As a result of the discussion and deliberation, the committee decided to assign a committee from among its members to study this matter and report on it before the next session. Due to time constraints, the committee was unable to discuss the remaining items on its agenda related to military justice, thus the session was adjourned, and the committee will continue its work in the next session.
