Ministry issues cancer patients’ insurance regulations

AMMAN — The Health Ministry on Sunday announced a mechanism to implement the recent Cabinet decision on presenting treatment to all cancer patients, whether they have civil or military insurance or no insurance at all.

Health Ministry spokesperson Hatem Azrui said that, since Prime Minister Omar Razzaz’s announcement, Health Minister Mahmoud Sheyyab directed the health insurance department to implement a mechanism on treatment procedures, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

He noted that cancer patients who hold a civil insurance card and are currently receiving treatment can directly visit a public hospital or the health affairs department if their governorate does not have a public hospital, as soon as their transfer period ends.

As for cancer patients who do not have health insurance, Azrui said that, when their medical exemption expires, they can visit the health insurance department to issue a health insurance card, where they will have to present a detailed report from the specialist at the hospital. 

Then, they will be able to visit the public hospital or the health affairs department to be transferred for treatment, depending on the medical case and specialisation.

As for recently diagnosed cancer patients, they can visit the mentioned venues and present a valid health insurance card as well as tests to identify the proper place of treatment.

For patients who do not have health insurance, they can visit the health insurance department and present their ID cards, family notebooks, birth certificates, temporary passports for Gazans, or the identification cards for children of Jordanian women married to non-Jordanians to receive their card, the spokesperson added.

The spokesperson stressed that transfers will include ministry hospitals, the Prince Hamzah Hospital, Royal Medical Services (RMS), university hospitals and the King Hussein Cancer Centre (KHCC).

He noted that if patients need a medicine that is not available at public hospitals, they will be transferred to the KHCC or RMS.

If patients need a bone marrow transplant, they will be transferred to the proper treatment facility through their doctors without having to refer to the central committee at the Bashir Hospital as was previously the case.