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Ammon News - Minister of Health Natheer Obeidat said Monday that a proposal is currently under consideration for the introduction of universal healthcare insurance that leads to setting up a unified referral entity that involves multiple stakeholders.

This type of insurance will be under one umbrella and one fund managed by the Ministry of Health with the participation of many bodies, such as the Social Security Corporation, Obeidat told a Zoom-powered meeting with members of the Country Status Report 2020.

The minister indicated that the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the health system was enormous as it affected the implementation of many of the recommendations set by the 2019 report, stressing: "We must put the lessons learned from the pandemic among the government's priorities".

Wael Hayajneh, secretary general of the Health Ministry for epidemiological affairs and the official in charge of the COVID-19 crisis, pointed out that there is no longer a problem in securing a bed for every patient, thanks to system automation.

The government, he emphasized, should look into how to strengthen preventive medicine and pay extra attention to chronic diseases after the end of the pandemic.

The meeting underlined the need to focus on drug security during the pandemic, especially with regard to chronic diseases and supply chains. Also, the participants stressed the need to increase the number of resident doctors and expand residency programs and general specialties to back up subspecialties.

They emphasized that the report should include a study of the causes of the setback that occurred during the coronavirus pandemic after the success achieved by the Ministry of Health early in the crisis.