Away from the political and constitutional debate regarding the last session of the caretaker government, its constitutionality and legitimacy or not, and whether it can be replaced by roving decrees or any other mechanism to take the required decisions on urgent issues, however, the decree of distributing funds allocated for processing in public and private institutions at the expense of the Ministry Public Health, for the year 2022, left positive repercussions among the poor, especially dialysis patients and those with cancer.
This decree was also well received by private hospitals, in addition to other decrees related to health matters that the hospitals expressed their satisfaction with their issuance, following they warned in earlier times that they might no longer continue to cover all hospital services, and that patients had to pay the differences in bills directly, which was He threatens many people not to receive the necessary treatments and thus risk death, because hospitals are unable to continue in this situation.
And the head of the Syndicate of Owners of Private Hospitals, Suleiman Haroun, explains, in an interview with the Lebanese Forces website, that “there are contracts signed between the Ministry of Health and hospitals to pay the latter’s dues for the year 2022, and these contracts do not become effective and the hospitals are not paid, except through the issuance of a decree by the Council of Ministers.” “.
He added, “There is a deadline that expires on December 15, and if a decree is not issued by the Council of Ministers before this date, contracts and credits for hospitals will be forfeited, and it will no longer be possible to pay them. Therefore, the decree must exist to confirm the contracts, in preparation for the implementation of the specified payment mechanism.
And Haroun points out, “The payment has not started yet, and the hospitals have not received any money for the year 2022 until now, while they are still receiving patients at the expense of the Ministry of Health. But at least now, with the issuance of the decree, the funds are seized and there is a mechanism for payment, otherwise, in the event that it was not issued, the funds noted would not exist,” noting that “the amount, according to the budget for the year 2022, is regarding 2.100 billion pounds.”
And he stresses, “We have passed the first stage, and now we are waiting to receive the dues. It is true that the decree was issued, but the money has not been entered into the hospital accounts yet,” explaining that “the decree will go to the Audit Bureau first for its study and then approval, following which the Ministry of Health will transfer the payment schedules to the Ministry of Finance, which will pay. That is, the matter is still long.
And he considers that “this mechanism is supposed to be completed within a month at most, if work is done with the required seriousness, given the current exceptional circumstances,” announcing that “patients will not be charged for hospitalization differences pending the mechanism’s progress. But in the event that this is not done, we have no possibility, as we are talking regarding a full year that is nearing its end and we have not received a penny of our dues.
Maroun asserts, “Private hospitals will deal positively following the issuance of the decree, and will continue to receive patients at the expense of the Ministry of Health, and they will not be burdened with differences, especially dialysis patients and those with cancer. As for the rest of the cases, there are some differences that patients bear and pay out of their pockets, as usual, given that the Ministry of Health does not cover the entire bill for all hospitalizations, with the exception of patients with dialysis and cancerous diseases who get 100% coverage.
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