Hope for Lebanon's healthcare: Hospitals see budget increase as Health Ministry aims for recovery

Report by Petra Abou Haidar, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

Lebanon's healthcare system has faced severe challenges during the ongoing economic crisis, leaving many patients struggling to receive necessary medical care. 
 
Patients relying on the Health Ministry have been particularly affected, with hospitals often demanding cash payments to cover the difference between what the ministry pays in Lebanese lira and the actual cost of procedures.

In some cases, hospitals refused to provide essential medical supplies like stents unless patients paid in cash.
 
These were undoubtedly difficult times for both patients and hospitals. 

However, there may be a glimmer of hope on the horizon. The Health Ministry is working to restore hospital services for patients covered by the ministry, who make up 70% of the Lebanese population.

This effort comes with an increased budget for the ministry, which now stands at $370 million, with $200 million allocated specifically for hospitals. 

As a result, the ministry has raised the spending caps for hospitals that treat ministry patients, allowing them to accept more patients and expand healthcare coverage.

Some hospitals have already used up their allotted funds due to the high number of ministry patients they have treated, and their caps will be increased accordingly. Others have not been as active in treating ministry patients, using their funds for other purposes.

In response to the crisis, the ministry had previously reduced the number of surgeries it would cover from 3,200 to 122, focusing only on emergency operations. Now, they plan to add 50 more procedures to the list. 

Additionally, services such as coronary stents provision, which had been discontinued, are being reinstated.

A pivotal step to encourage doctors who left the country to return is the ministry's decision to restore the pre-crisis payment rates for doctors treating ministry patients. The ministry is also working on 25 projects to expand sections of public hospitals. 

Moreover, a partnership between some public hospitals and major private hospitals is expected to be announced soon.

While there is still a long way to go, these steps suggest that Lebanon's healthcare sector is on the road to recovery, with hopes of returning to its pre-crisis state, if not better.