The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) set new guidelines for its operations in coordination with the Ministry of Labor, following a meeting held on August 8 and 9.

According to the decision, employers will be able to submit and obtain a quittance in the Nabatieh and Jounieh offices, starting in October. This procedure will save employers the trouble of going to the NSSF headquarters or other offices.

The NSSF administration prepared a draft decree and referred it to the board of directors to reduce subscriber fees from 20 to five percent for specific medicines related to multiple sclerosis, pulmonary pressure, and pulmonary fibrosis. This decision would reduce the medical bills of those suffering from such chronic diseases.

Until now, subscribers had to pay the entire cost of their MRI, PET scan, and CT scan tests to hospitals and clinics before they were reimbursed by NSSF. However, under the new guidelines, subscribers would only pay 20 percent of the overall cost and NSSF would pay the medical centers and hospitals the remaining amount directly.  NSSF finalized the required studies and contracts to sign with hospitals and medical centers. 

To ease bottlenecks for its subscribers, NSSF will hire new staff members, as part of the new guidelines.

To enhance the quality of services offered by NSSF, the administration will continue the quality program (Qualeb) implemented in Bourj Hammoud, in
cooperation with the Ministry of Economy and Trade. The Qualeb Program is a support from the European Union that has helped to improve quality standards. The program should be implemented by late 2014 in order to be circulated to all NSSF branches.

NSSF will also start implementing the unified medical prescription that was issued by the Ministry of Public Health, September 9.