A proposal by the healthcare sector to increase the pay of medical practitioners and the costs of medical services will have a significant impact on insurance companies and consumers said Jordan Insurance Federation (JIF) president Majed Smeirat.
He said that the Medical Association had recently announced unilaterally the issuance of the new medical cost list without consulting other stakeholders, according to a report by Al Ghad.
Mr Smeirat said that an initial study of the new proposal by the medical profession shows that there will be a significant increase in the costs of medical services, including the remuneration of medical practitioners, which would affect insurers, health management organisations, entities engaged in health insurance-related business and customers. Some medical services would see prices hiked by more than 300%.
He added that the move will cause a major dent in the financial results of insurance companies engaged in the medical insurance branch and health insurance funds, which base their premiums according to the medical cost regulations in force currently.
He said that the adoption of the new medical costs will lead to a very large increase in medical insurance prices — in both group and individual business — since doctors’ fees and the costs of medical procedures constitute 40% of the medical bill.
There are fears that the increased costs will deter employers from providing medical insurance for employees and their families.
He also said that the hike in medical insurance premiums because of the rise in medical remuneration, will burden the Ministry of Health and Royal Medical Services because the demand for their services will increase with more people being unable to afford to purchase private medical insurance to meet the costs of private healthcare.
Mr Smeirat called for direct and rapid governmental intervention from lawmakers, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Consumer Protection Department, the Competition Directorate, labour unions and civil institutions, to stop the medical cost increases.
He said that the JIF stands with medical practitioners and their right to improve their income and standard of living, if changes are tabled according to procedures and take into account the interests of all parties who pay medical bills.
The Doctors’ Syndicate head Ziyad Al-Zoubi said that the new list of medical fees and costs will be submitted to the government for publication in the official gazette after agreement on it is reached by all parties. He says that the syndicate and insurance companies had held a series of meetings on the new medical pricing.
He said that insurers wish to see the changes applied gradually over a period of time to comply with the terms of insurance contracts. M