A number of health officials in Iran forecast a sharp rise in out-of-pocket health expenditures (OOP) in the coming year (2007-8). They all say that pre-decided 4300 Toman (approximately 5 dollars) per capita healthcare share of the government (Saraneye darman in Farsi) for the year 2007-8 may cause a sharp 15% increase of the OOP payments. Then people will have to pay up to 70% (even 80%) of medical care expenses out of their pocket. They all concern about the bankruptcy of the private hospitals as a direct consequence of high OOP payments. Their suggestion is to increase the per capita share of the government to 7000-8000 Toman (8.5 -9 dollars) so that people directly pay much less than what they currently pay for healthcare services . Currently, OOP payments constitute 55% to 60% of total health expenditures in Iran. Private sector is the main provider of the outpatient health care. Inpatient care is provided chiefly by the government in most parts of the country. However, in big cities like Tehran, Isfahan, Tabriz, Shiraz, and Mashad, private hospitals are providing an important portion of the population's needs to inpatient care.
Sources:
1-http://pezeshkan.ir/ .Feb 3, 2007 (original reference: Mehr News interview with Dr. Bijan Shahbazkhani, and Dr. Jahanbakhsh Aminia , members of the Health Commission of the Parliament)
2-http://pezeshkan.ir .Feb 4, 2007 (original reference: Mehr News interview with Dr. Ahmad Reza Jamshidi, the Vice Chairman of the I.R.Iran's Medical Council)
3-http://pezeshkan.ir . Feb 3, 2007 (original reference: Fars News interview with Dr. Mohammad Hossein Tarighat, the Vice Chaiman of the Welfare Ministry)
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