The Parliamentary Health Committee held a meeting on Monday, chaired by MP Bilal Abdallah and attended by caretaker Minister of Health Firas Abiad, to discuss the financing of dialysis and treatment for cancer and other incurable diseases.
At the end of the meeting, Bilal Abdallah declared that “it was agreed to continue covering patients undergoing dialysis, of whom there are 5,000 in Lebanon, in cooperation with third-party funding.”
He said that it had also been agreed to “establish a clear mechanism to finance these operations, ensuring the funds are directed to the patient” and that the Health Committee would ask caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati to “find a legal solution to ensure the funds required for dialysis.”
Last March, the Ministry of Health set the hospital fee for a dialysis session at $53 and the doctor’s fee at $10. This figure was confirmed by Abdallah, who added that the commission would be holding a second meeting next month to determine the actual cost.
