Vascular Surgery Conference Opens Under Patronage of Health Minister

The 14th conference of the Lebanese Vascular Surgery Society was inaugurated at Le Royal Hotel - Dbayeh, under the patronage of President of the Republic General Joseph Aoun, represented by the Minister of Health and Chairman of the Regional Committee of Arab Health Ministers, Rakan Nasr Al-Din.

Participating in the opening of the scientific meeting organized by the Society's president Dr. Julian Saafar, which gathered over two days an elite group of doctors and specialists from Lebanon and abroad to exchange experiences and keep up with the latest developments in vascular surgery, were Dr. Alain Khalif representing the Dean of Physicians Professor Elias Chellala, the Dean of Private Hospitals Professor Boutros Yard, deans of medical faculties, and a crowd of media representatives, mayors, mukhtars, and social figures.

Nasr Al-Din spoke, affirming that "the Ministry is working to develop the health sector and enhance hospital coverage, in parallel with controlling prices of medical services and medications, ensuring the protection of patients' rights and consideration of citizens' economic and social conditions."

He said: "The Ministry's policy is based on studying any schedules for price increases and assessing their repercussions on citizens and various insurance sectors. Also, health coverage in Lebanon is distributed among private insurance, guarantor institutions, including the National Social Security Fund, security institutions, and the Cooperative of State Employees, in addition to a category that enjoys no health coverage and relies exclusively on the Ministry of Public Health."

He noted that "the Ministry submitted a draft law for comprehensive health coverage, previously approved by the Parliamentary Health Committee, which is based on imposing specific tax fees to secure full coverage for the patient through a fund affiliated with the Ministry of Health," pointing out that "the law has not been applied as required, necessitating its re-submission and work to activate it."

He announced that "efforts made, with government support, allowed raising resources allocated to the health sector to greater levels," noting "the importance of providing sustainable coverage for people who do not have health insurance or financial alternatives, whether through the health card or similar financing mechanisms. The cost of covering this category was estimated at around $250 million," revealing that "the hospitalization budget in the Ministry of Public Health witnessed a notable increase, moving from about $38 million during 2024 and 2025 to more than $250 million in 2026, with the Ministry aspiring to raise it to $350 million next year, enhancing the volume of available medical coverage for citizens."

He indicated that "about 19,000 patients suffering from cancer and chronic diseases currently benefit from health coverage," confirming that "the Ministry is working to organize treatments for incurable diseases according to clear protocols and agreements with concerned hospitals, ensuring treatment delivery and protecting patients' rights," stressing that "these protocols constitute an advanced step in organizing health services," clarifying that "the Ministry seeks to cover the largest possible number of patients, even in cases where securing full coverage for everyone is not feasible."

In the framework of reorganizing hospital services, Nasr Al-Din explained that "the Ministry adopted an approach allowing small, peripheral, and private hospitals to perform routine surgeries, such as appendectomy and cholecystectomy, instead of restricting them to major university hospitals. This trend allows university centers to devote themselves to complex cases and precise operations requiring specialized capabilities."

He noted that "the Ministry succeeded, in this context, in expanding the scope of bone marrow transplant treatment, as more than one hundred patients now receive this treatment at its expense in university hospitals, after the number of beneficiaries was previously limited," pointing to "the continued updating of regulatory protocols in cooperation with the World Health Organization, including lists of medications and hospital services for 2026 and beyond, aiming to improve healthcare quality and enhance spending efficiency."

Regarding the medication file, Nasr Al-Din affirmed that "the Ministry deals firmly with attempts to exploit situations to introduce smuggled, counterfeit, or non-compliant medications," stressing that "violators will face necessary legal procedures."

He confirmed "the adoption of standards and guidelines issued by the World Health Organization to ensure medication safety and quality, with special attention to sensitive, psychiatric, and neurological medications requiring strict control," noting "the role of the unified health number in enhancing follow-up and monitoring mechanisms."

Nasr Al-Din concluded "by affirming that the Ministry is proceeding with developing the health sector and organizing relations with medical, pharmaceutical, and hospital entities, aiming to protect patients and secure medications and hospital services at fair and calculated prices, despite the challenges facing the sector."