AMMAN — A Cabinet decision to amend the Civil
Health Insurance Bylaw was announced this week by
Minister of Health Feras Al-Hawari,
will allow the inclusion of new beneficiaries to the public health insurance
system; a decision that came after weeks of deliberation and dialogue between
the Ministry of Health and the Parliamentary Health Committee, and the outcome
of long consultations between ministry officials and Jordanian physicians.
اضافة اعلان
The amendments will allow an unmarried son or
daughter — over the age of 18 — of any subscriber, to enroll in the civil
health insurance program. Unemployed
children of subscribers, who are 25 years old, will pay JD5 a month in order to
receive full coverage, while those who are employed will be required to pay JD10
monthly in order for their civil insurance to remain valid.
Additionally, the amendments will now enable
those who are subscribed to include their sisters who are either divorced or
widowed and do not have any male children over the age of 25, as long as these
sisters are not pension recipients, and also as long as they are unemployed.
Unemployed sisters of subscribers are not the
only beneficiaries however. Sisters who have no children, but happen to be
either retired or employed, can also benefit under the subscriber’s plan, on
the condition that they are spouseless. The amended bylaw will be published in
the Official Gazette, coming into effect 60 days after they have been
published.
A study published in November 2020 by the
Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, funded by
UNICEF, concluded that “the
cost of expanding healthcare coverage for vulnerable Jordanians was $223.20 per
newly-covered person per-year.” They also reported that the “annual per capita
out-of-pocket payment by an uninsured Jordanian for an ambulatory visit was
$11.33, compared to $2.92 for those covered by the civil insurance program,”
indicating a clear advantage for insured patients.
Director of the Health Insurance Department at
the Ministry of Health, Nael Adwan, told
Jordan
News that these changes have been introduced as a means of “making the
Jordanian healthcare system more inclusive towards certain segments of society
that have been excluded over the years. The final decision was carried out by
the Council of Ministers, and it has been approved by a Royal Decree.” These
amendments are undeniably a “positive measure”, he said.
Adwan asserted that it was too early to
determine the financial cost of these new amendments. He also added that under
these amendments, certain subscribers can use their insurance plans to receive medical
care at a private sector facility, depending on the specific category of their
insurance subscription.
MP Hayel Ayyash, a medical doctor and a former
member of the Parliamentary Health Committee, told
Jordan News that while these new amendments do not specifically
address those who are 60 years of age or older, this age group will undoubtedly
continue to be supported by the Jordanian government. “The healthcare of Jordanians is an essential
goal, regardless of monetary costs,” he said.
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