Pharmacists Association, Insurance Federation agree to end dispute, suspend escalatory procedures

AMMAN — The Jordan Pharmacists Association (JPA) and the Jordan Insurance Federation (JIF) agreed to suspend all recent decisions and escalatory procedures, which resulted in a dispute between both parties.

Negotiations began after the JPA’s board adopted new amendments to contractual terms organising the relationship between pharmacies and insurance companies. 

 The disputed amendments include reducing the monthly percentage that insurance companies obtain from pharmacies from 6 to 2 per cent as of April 1 of this year, an informed source at the JPA told The Jordan Times. 

Last week, the JPA issued a statement urging pharmacies to suspend transactions with insurance companies that fail to abide by the new amendments, under threat of legal liability and disciplinary sanctions. 

The JIF then announced that the federation intended to take legal action against the association, as well as any pharmacies abiding by the decision. 

It also stated that all insurance companies will cease doing business with any pharmacy that refuses to accept insurance forms from companies that do not follow the new amendments. 

This new agreement was reached following a trilateral meeting on Tuesday at the Central Bank of Jordan, which supervises and regulates the insurance sector in Jordan, according to a joint statement issued by the JPA and JIF.  

Other concerned parties present during the meeting included the National Society for Consumer Protection, the General Federation of Jordanian Trade Unions and the Jordan Association for Medical Insurance.

Following the meeting, JPA and the JIF agreed to suspend all previous decisions and open the door for discussions between all concerned stakeholders to arrive at a final agreement concerning contractual terms by June 15, the statement said.