Jordan: Insurers withdraw from joint pricing committee
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Oct 2023
The Jordan Insurance Federation (JIF) has decided to withdraw from a joint pricing committee formed by the Health Ministry to study doctors’ fees.
In a letter addressed to the Health Ministry, the federation said that its withdrawal from the committee is in protest at the Jordan Medical Association’s (JMA) insistence on implementing a pay scale for medical personnel which is not agreed upon officially with the JIF and does not comply with the previous protocol.
The dispute between the JIF and the JMA blew up in August 2023 when the latter announced that it would stop accepting medical insurance for healthcare services on 2 September, except for medical emergencies and cancer and kidney failure patients.
The JMA said that it decided to accept cash only due to the reluctance of insurance companies to engage in discussions about increasing doctors’ fees. Doctors have been working based on a 2008-approved fee scale, despite evolving medical procedures and the increased cost of living in the interim period.
The dispute led to the health minister’s decision to form a joint committee to review medical fees and to address medical procedures that are currently not covered by the existing salary regulations. The committee is chaired by the secretary-general of the Ministry of Health for Administrative and Technical Affairs and will include all relevant stakeholders.
The JMA had agreed to postpone the decision to suspend insured patient admissions, originally scheduled for 2 September, until the committee completes its work no later than 2 December. M