Caretaker Minister of Health Firas Abiad. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Caretaker Health Minister Firas Abiad announced a new program on Monday to cover emergency primary health care services for Lebanese citizens treated at the ministry’s expense and for individuals displaced from their towns and villages, according to the state-run National News Agency.
The program, unveiled during a press conference at Karantina Governmental Hospital, is set to begin on Tuesday.
Previously, the ministry only covered emergency services requiring hospitalization, stated Abiad. However, he noted that many patients urgently need treatments, tests and diagnostics that do not involve hospital admission.
The minister said that he witnessed the need for this service during his tours at centers designated for internally displaced persons.
“This new program is limited to emergency cases that cannot wait to go to primary health care centers, while [other] cases such as chronic and acute diseases will continue to have their services insured at the care centers,” he said.
Abiad explained that the coverage of the emergency examination "includes any subsequent blood tests or radiographs that the patient may need in addition to the required treatment."
He added that the "cost of this service is estimated at L.L. 4,500,000, or the equivalent of $50." Registered displaced people can receive comprehensive coverage while non-displaced citizens should pay 30% of the cost (L.L. 1,350,000)
Abiad specified that the hospitals participating in the program are 27 government hospitals and 17 private hospitals.
“This step is very important and was launched amid the current difficult circumstances, but it will continue after the end of the war on Lebanon because it aims to complete the package provided by the Public Health Ministry to its patients, including primary health care, hospitalization and emergency services,” he concluded.
More than 1.2 million people have been displaced in Lebanon due to the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel which started in Oct. 2023 and escalated into a full-out war in September, followed by an Israeli ground offensive.