World Bank Health Nutrition and Population Policy Note - Health Financing in Lebanon: Key Issues and Policy Options

Lebanon’s healthcare system faces some daunting challenges. The country’s ongoing socioeconomic and political crisis has led to reduced government health spending and the widespread loss of public and private health insurance coverage among the population due to job losses. This resulted in higher medical bills and lower health service use for patients. The poor have been hit hardest as they are rarely able to afford the high fees charged by healthcare providers. With fewer resources, hospitals have reduced their operational capacities, which has prompted health workers to take up job opportunities in other countries. Because Lebanon’s health system is characterized by fragmentation of both payers and providers, different benefits and prices, and high administrative costs, it has been caught unprepared for this crisis.