BEIRUT: The Syndicate of Hospitals in Lebanon Tuesday appealed to the government to pay outstanding hospital bills amounting to LL 120 billion, cautioning that delay in payments would jeopardize medical services in certain hospitals.
“The Council [of the syndicate] appeals to the official institutions to process the administrative transactions submitted by hospitals and it makes a special appeal to Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil to honor an outstanding bill of LL 120 billion,” the Syndicate said in a statement.
It cautioned that “the problem of overdue invoices,” that state institutions owed Lebanese private hospitals, including LL 92.5 billion for the military institutions, has reached a tipping point, adversely affecting medical services and threatening the survival of certain hospitals.
“The council reaffirms the hospitals’ full commitment to continue in carrying out their duties even in the most critical times, and implores all concerned (government) institutions to give the hospitalization sector the attention it needs to enable it to continue providing quality services to all citizens without discrimination,” the statement added.
Hospitals are legally required to provide any emergency treatment until the patient’s life is secured, but the costs due on the government are systematically delayed on the excuse of the lack of funds.
The syndicate also called for readjusting the medical quota and pricing of services determined by the National Social Security Fund, which it complained did not reflect the real cost of the services and the growing cost of hospitalization.
“The hospitals are passing through a critical time due to a lack of essential liquidity needed to sustain operations, including meeting payment deadlines imposed by importers of medications and medical equipment,” the statement said.
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