October 7, 2026
The draft comprehensive primary health coverage law is still languishing in the joint parliamentary committees, amid extensive discussions centered around financing mechanisms, with estimates estimating the cost of the project at about one billion dollars, which poses serious challenges to securing the resources necessary for its implementation and ensuring its sustainability to serve more than two million Lebanese citizens.
During the sessions, the idea of adopting decentralization in health coverage was presented as a potential mechanism to expand the scope of care and reach deprived groups and regions, especially those not covered by any insurance umbrella.
This debate comes at a time when a number of representatives are stressing the urgent necessity of approving the law as an essential step to address the decline in the state’s ability to provide social and health services, in parallel with the insane rise in the cost of hospitalization and medical care.
In this context, Representative Abdul Rahman Al-Bizri considered that the file constitutes a serious and essential step to secure hospitalization for citizens, while Representative Waddah Al-Sadiq warned of the consequences of political disagreements that might overthrow the law completely.
At the level of proposed financing mechanisms, the option of the state contributing part of the cost was discussed, while discussions focused on securing the largest part by imposing indirect fees or taxes on multiple sectors, to avoid placing the direct financial burden on the beneficiary citizens.
The most prominent challenge remains limited to finding an accurate equation that balances expanding the umbrella of health coverage, and the financial ability of the state, citizens, and economic sectors to bear its burdens.
Accordingly, the committees’ haste to approve the law requires holding more additional sessions to resolve the financial issues related to financing, as it is the main obstacle to the project’s implementation.
