While the Lebanese Ministry of Health initially pledged free care for wounded civilians, pregnant women, and displaced persons during Israel's war on the country, that promise has frayed in the aftermath.
Hospitals, both public and private, now demand upfront payments, emergency rooms turn patients away, and surgeries are often denied unless patients can cover steep out-of-pocket costs.
Hospitals turn patients away as funding dries up Sources speaking to The New Arab point out that many patients previously treated at private hospitals were later refused admission.
The reasons varied, but controversy erupted online over allegations that the American University of Beirut Medical Centre (AUBMC) had apparently declined to treat Mehdi Shalhoub, a wounded fighter, after an appointment had been scheduled.