SSC mulls options to provide health insurance

AMMAN — The Social Security Corporation (SSC) board of directors on Saturday held an extraordinary meeting to discuss the corporation’s options to provide  health insurance to its subscribers, pensioners and their families.

SSC Director General Nadia Rawabdeh said the corporation seeks to provide health insurance as part of its strategy, noting that expanding health insurance coverage was one of His Majesty King Abdullah’s instructions in his Letter of Designation to Prime Minister Hani Mulki’s Cabinet, according to an SSC statement.

She said the meeting, chaired by Labour Minister Ali Ghezawi in his capacity as chairman of the SSC board of directors, reviewed three possible options for supplying health insurance.

Under the first option, insurance would only cover treatment in public hospitals and health centres. 

In the second option, treatment would be offered at public facilities, but private hospitals could also provide services at prices agreed with the Health Ministry, Rawabdeh said.

Under the third option discussed, the insurance would cover treatment in public and private facilities, as well as Royal Medical Services’ hospitals and centres.

Each of the three options would entail special subscription fees payable by the government, employers and employees, she said, highlighting that health insurance is a basic right of workers, pensioners and their families.

Rawabdeh noted that 27 per cent of Jordanians do not have health insurance, while 87 per cent of non-Jordanians residing in the Kingdom are not covered by any health insurance, according to the statement.

Health Minister Mahmoud Sheyyab also attended the meeting.