Private hospitals renew threat to stop receiving NSSF patients

Private hospitals threatened Wednesday to stop admitting National Social Security Fund patients again after slamming the Cabinet for freezing an earlier deal to hike NSSF subscription fees and hospitalization fees. “We plan to announce that we will no longer receive NSSF patients Friday,” head of the Hospital Owners Association Suleiman Haroun told the Central News Agency. Private hospitals resumed providing health care to NSSF patients in May after Lebanon’s biggest insurer agreed to triple hospitalization costs for overnight hospital stays in return for hiking a cap on its subscription fees. The NSSF refuses to apply the fare increases before the Cabinet issues a decree hiking the ceiling on sickness and maternity fees from LL1.5 million to LL2.5 million. Haroun said economic associations representing the private sector have rejected any increase in subscription fees and have pressured Prime Minister Najib Mikati to put it on hold until the economic situation improves. Haroun argued that the hikes on subscription fees had a limited impact on businesses. “The increase would not exceed LL40,000 and businesses [offering salaries higher than LL1.5 million] are the ones doing well financially,” he added. From DailyStar