Statement of the Minister of Public Health on al-Aridi's Case
Whereas … was making completely baseless accusations against the Minister, and publishing information that aimed at tarnishing the reputation of the Minister, which is considered as a legal violation that undermines the prestige of the Minister and the Ministry,
The Ministry of Public Health would like to clarify the following:
The patients Riyad al-Aridi and Muhamad Bitar are affiliated to the National Social Security Fund, which means that the Ministry does not cover any hospitalization fees, whether partially or totally according to the system.
The Office of the Minister of Public Health has only asked the hospital, as a humanitarian gesture, to help in reducing the bill and we appreciate the hospital doing so.
All the mediation efforts regarding the patient al-Aridi have not prompted the minister to issue an exception by covering part of the expenses.
The complainants would have rather addressed their statements to the concerned parties, i.e., the insurer of the patient, to issue an exceptional decision or update the current system so as to cover the patient’s treatment.
The act of the tweeter user is punishable by law and attention has been drawn, several times ago, to similar cases.