PHOTO
16 June 2017
BEIRUT: Parliaments Finance and Budget Committee agreed Thursday on a Health Ministry budget, stressing that Lebanese patients should be given top priority in the medical care program.
The meeting, chaired by Metn MP Ibrahim Kanaan, covered health policy in Lebanon including public and private hospital expenses for Lebanese patients, how to meet the health needs of Syrian refugees, the financial impact of the refugee crisis and issues some citizens face when being admitted to hospitals. The Health Ministrys budget was not disclosed.
Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Ghassan Hasbani and Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil were also present.
Kanaan demanded that crucial items, such as medication for cancer, heart disease and diabetes be treated free of charge. Some LL144 billion ($96 million) is allocated for such items, and they will be paid for on time, Hasbani said.
There are some hospitals that give Syrian patients priority over Lebanese because international organizations cover their [Syrians] expenses, and this is unacceptable, Kanaan claimed, asking Hasbani to prioritize Lebanese patients.
About LL1 billion is allocated for the Central Laboratory, Hasbani said. Closed in 2007, the laboratory was created in the 1950s and was responsible for testing medicine, water, food, pathogens, parasites and tissue samples.
The government cited security reasons at the time of its closure, as it is near Speaker Nabih Berris Ain al-Tineh residence.
The American University of Beirut and other institutions took on many of the tests the facility once carried out. Former Health Minister Mohammad Jawad Khalifeh previously said he tried to revive the facility, which closed on his watch, but that there was considerable overlap in duties with other institutions.
Copyright The Daily Star 2017.
