Pharmacists association ceases boycott of insurance companies

AMMAN — The Jordan Pharmacists Association (JPhA) on Monday announced it will halt its boycott of insurance companies after reaching an agreement through which the Ministry of Industry and Trade will oversee the firms’ compliance with the contractual principles approved by the union. 

The union had decided to start boycotting insurance companies last week with the aim of protesting the firms’ “lack of commitment to the contractual principles approved by the union after the agreed deadline,” JPhA President Zeid Kilani told The Jordan Times in a recent interview. 

​“The principles were expected to regulate contractual fees and prescriptions in the interest of all, but unfortunately, the insurance companies play a more powerful role against most pharmacies, and force them to engage in policies against the agreement,” Kilani charged.

​As a result, members of the union agreed to stop accepting insurance forms from certain companies not abiding by the agreements previously signed, ​in addition to submitting statistical forms for all pharmacies to report on the behaviour of insurance companies, Kilani added.

The decision to end the boycott came after several meetings held by a delegation of the union with representatives of one of the concerned insurance companies at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, where the union and the firm discussed ways to serve the interests of both parties. 

Under the agreement reached during the meeting, the JPhA and the company will cooperate to implement the contractual principles previously signed by both parties, and work to overcome all obstacles that may arise from the implementation of the principles, Kilani said.

“The company has already made all the necessary arrangements to abide by the regulations and correct their practice,” the pharmacist said, noting that the union had agreed to continue to work with the company and halt the boycott of all other insurance companies.

Asked about other non-abiding firms, Kilani explained that many of the companies do not comply with the principles due to accreditation and financial issues, noting that the union will study the results from the statistical forms submitted by pharmacies in order to study each issue independently.