The debate over the future of state-financed health care intensified yesterday as Minister of Health Hatem el-Gabali came under attack from members of both houses of parliament.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Egypt warned of the dangerous consequences of privatizing health care services, particularly for the poor, who lack medical insurance.
The Health Committee of the People’s Assembly made a number of recommendations for resolving the health care crisis. The ideas were presented on Monday by Dr Hamdi el-Sayyed, the president of the Doctors Syndicate.
Representatives from both the majority bloc and the opposition stated their opposition to the financial ceiling which the government wishes to impose on state-financed medical treatment.They said such a ceiling should only be defined by the patient’s needs.
MPs also criticized the Central Auditing Organization, saying that it was monitoring the parliament rather than the government.
In the Shura Council, members of the Health and Population Committee attacked the health minister for sending a delegate to attend the committee meeting rather than coming in person.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
