Hospitals demand higher tariffs

Cabinet has two weeks to raise hospitalization fees: Syndicate of Hospitals

The Syndicate of Hospitals in Lebanon has put off its decision concerning stopping the admission of patients signed up to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), awaiting the Cabinet’s response to the hospitals’ request to raise tariffs. The syndicate said that it has postponed its decision for two weeks, after which it will decide what steps it will take in accordance with the Cabinet’s decision.

Private hospitals have been calling for higher hospitalization tariffs to match the wage raise and inflation rates decree adopted last January. Hospitals said that they are incapable of paying the wage increase to their employees until new tariffs are adopted.

The syndicate called on the NSSF’s board to take the tariffs issued by the Cabinet in 2009 as the base reference for inflation rates.

The Minister of Public Health, Ali Hassan Khalil, submitted a memo to the Cabinet in which he recommended raising hospitalization fees.