Jordan commits to accessible health insurance by 2030
Health Minister Feras Al Hawari described access to comprehensive health insurance as ‘a national priority’.
Speaking at the Towards Comprehensive Health Coverage in Jordan conference, Health Minister Feras Al Hawari detailed how health insurance will be a priority for Jordan, as the country signs a number of international conventions.
Although Jordan provides free health coverage to patients suffering from diseases with a high treatment cost – principally cancers, kidney failure, and chronic blood diseases – King Abdullah, in a letter to Prime Minister Al Bisher Al Khasawneh’s government, directed it to expand the base of subscribers to the health insurance programme.
According to Hawari, free health insurance in Jordan covers nearly 650,000 children and provides coverage to citizens over 60 years old. Former health minister Saad Jaber stated that Jordan spends 8.2 per cent of GDP on health, describing it as a ‘high percentage’ and the Health Ministry reportedly spends an annual JD2.5 billion (Jordanian dinar), over €3 billion.
Jordan’s health care system has progressed significantly but the 2017 paper, Health care and Pharmacy Practice in Jordan, published in the Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, outlined the need to improve direct patient care and refugee healthcare in the country.
Insurance remains a priority across the world, and the insurance sector is benefitting from digitisation as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.