JSF recommends restructuring gov’t insurance programme

AMMAN — The Jordan Strategy Forum on Saturday recommended the restructuring of the health insurance programme offered by the government, exemption system and healthcare expenses at the Ministry of Health to stop the accumulation of arrears.

In a policy paper published on Saturday, JSF highlighted that following recommended steps would lead to achieve financial savings that can be employed to tackle issues which have been neglected over the years pertaining to providing primary healthcare, recruiting competent personnel, enhancing infrastructure and evaluation.

The paper suggested that the main challenge facing the health sector in the Kingdom is not manifested in the lack of resources, but is rather connected to managing and utilising these resources.

Jordan annually spends 8-9 per cent of its national GDP on healthcare, which exceeds what MENA countries and those possessing an upper-middle income spend, the JSF said.

It added that most Jordanians enjoy good insurance thanks to different insurance programmes, medical exemptions and subsidised prices, all of which contribute to decrease personal expenses amounting to 30.4 per cent.

According to the 2015 census, about 64 per cent of Jordanians are covered by a minimum of one health insurance programme, and around 4.7 per cent receive free medical care, while remaining Jordanians benefit from subsidised prices offered by the Ministry of Health or benefit from exemptions related to certain medical cases.

This means that every Jordanian at least is covered with one kind within this “complex insurance system”, the JSF noted.

The variety of insurance programmes along with medical exemptions and subsidised prices deem the framework of medical insurance futile and incapable of exploiting resources, the JSF said, adding that these insurance programmes generally place a burden on healthcare budgets.

Arrears have accumulated over the last decade, surpassing JD442 million by the end of 2017, the JSF noted, calling for transparency and adoption of actuarial criteria in covering individuals.