THE longstanding, chaotic dispute between the Minister of Health and MPs over State-financed medical treatment is still far from over. It was the Minister of Health, Dr Hatem el-Gabali, who fired the first bullet in this upsetting dispute, by threatening to reject requests submitted by MPs for State-financed medical treatment for their supporters. El-Gabali added fuel to the fire when he cast doubt upon the integrity of MPs in this matter. The minister's aides gave the press unconfirmed reports that a number of lawmakers had exploited the State-financed medical treatment, in order to make a profit out of it. It has been claimed that MPs have been suspiciously collaborating with expensive investment hospitals and private clinics to provide medical care for their constituents, at taxpayers' expense. The Minister's comments triggered violent protests under the parliamentary dome. El-Gabali was accused of embarrassing MPs, who are preparing to run in the general elections later this year. The angry MPs urged the Speaker of Parliament, Ahmed Fathi Sorour, to launch an investigation into the Minister's 'unacceptable accusations'; if not, they would appeal to the Public Prosecution to clear their names. The furious parliamentarians accused el-Gabali of threatening the lives of countless poor, critically ill patients, who depend entirely on the State-financed treatment to survive. Thousands of patients nationwide, entitled to such treatment, have been turned away by health officials, who tell them that they must depend on their meagre resources until the Minister of Health and Parliament reach a compromise. Refusing to budge, the Minister has declared that he is preparing a new system, to regulate this matter. Dr el-Gabali stresses that the new system will end the abuse of the Statefinanced medical treatment expenses, which should have been used to upgrade local healthcare system. The defiant Minister estimates his Ministry's losses at billions of Egyptian pounds. Sources close to el-Gabali say that he pledged to challenge MPs about this, just hours after assuming office in 2005. His new money-saving vision has also been revealed in the form of a new healthcare bill. He alleges that his new health umbrella will guarantee streamlined healthcare to more than 30 million people in its first phase, a huge number, especially when compared to the 1.9 million beneficiaries under the traditional system. The Minister has managed to win the support of the Government, which rallied behind him in Parliament when he emphasised that his new philosophy for State-financed treatment will take a lot of the heat off the State Budget. He explained that, under his proposed system, anyone wishing to take part would have to pay around LE40 (about $7) per month, up from the LE3 per month they are currently paying in the present system. This proposed increase in the subscriptions has angered the nation. Millions of low-income employees and workers have condemned the Government of Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif for being prejudiced against the poor. The Minister's advisers suggest that it was the timing of the announcement of el-Gabali's new arrangements, which prompted the stormy opposition from MPs. They say that MPs were caught off guard when the Minister of Health decided to eliminate the allegedly defunct and traditional State-financed healthcare system a few months ahead of the parliamentary elections, which are likely to be the toughest in decades.
