JMA to issue new list, regulating medical practice, fees

AMMAN — The Jordan Medical Association (JMA) will issue a new list updating its 2008 wage regulations, following review by the Jordan Insurance Federation (JIF), according to JMA President Zeyad Al Zu’bi. 

The new list, prepared in 2021, includes regulations related to newly introduced medical procedures and physicians’ specialty-based scopes of practice, Zu’bi told The Jordan Times. 

It also increases doctors’ examination fees, taking into consideration inflation rates in Jordan over the past 14 years, he added. 

Moreover, he denied the validity of circulated news on the suspension of the amendments to the wage regulations by the Ministry of Health, noting that enforcing them falls within the legal powers of the JMA. 

Last month, a meeting between the JMA and the JIF was held at the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ), which supervises and regulates the insurance sector in Jordan, according to Zu’bi. 

He noted that after the JIF completes reviewing the new regulations, another meeting will be held at the CBJ to discuss its provisions. Once both parties reach an agreement, the new list will be published in the Official Gazette after the approval of the Minister of State for Legal Affairs.

Zu’bi also pointed out that a lot of medical procedures aren’t mentioned in the current list, published in the official Gazette in 2008. 

“This allows some doctors to justify the extremely high fees for these procedures by the absence of a legal provision on the matter,” he said, noting that the new list includes a minimum and a maximum range of costs for each procedure, surgery, consultation, etc. 

Additionally, the list specifies the range of tasks, decisions, surgeries and procedures that each healthcare professional is legally authorised to perform, depending on the type of training they received, he added. 

The 2008 wages list shows that the examination fees for a general physician range between JD5 and JD8, while the fees for a specialist range between JD10 and JD20. 

The list also states that specialists with 10 to 15 years of experience can increase their fees by 10 per cent, those with 15 to 20 years of experience can increase their fees by 15 per cent and specialists with over 20 years of experience can increase their fees by 20 per cent. 

Zubi said that a large number of doctors don’t abide by the current list, charging patients fees higher than what is specified by its regulations. He urged patients to report these violations by submitting a complaint with a receipt of the paid invoice to the JMA to be compensated for the illegally charged amount.