TEHRAN – The Iranian health minister announced on Wednesday that the 850,000 Afghan immigrants living legally in Iran will receive health insurance.

The memorandum of understanding for providing health services for Afghan nationals which was drafted and reviewed on Wednesday will be signed by the ministries of health, interior and labor, Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi said.

Qazizadeh Hashemi, who was speaking on the sidelines of a trilateral meeting in which the ministries of Labor and Interior were also present, said that out of the total legal population of Afghans in Iran, 300,000 are considered vulnerable.

This group gets high-deductible health plan that pays 85 percent of the deductible, the minister said.

Now, the remaining 550,000 Afghan immigrants leading a standard living will get another healthcare plan that provides 50 percent of their medical bills, IRNA quote Qazizadeh Hashemi as saying.

The health minister said no organization has backed the healthcare of Afghan nationals so far.

Since many of the Afghans residing in Iran are needy, their health expenses, particularly at times of accidents, will be imposed on his ministry, he added.

The ministry will supply all types of healthcare including preventive care services for communicable diseases, vaccination, and insurance coverage for pregnant women and their infants, he explained.

However, he added, there is so many illegal Afghans in Iran whose healthcare expenses have created problems for the ministry.

Afghans receiving inpatient services at state hospitals are subject to health insurance, although they are responsible for their outpatient care, Qazizadeh Hashemi said.

PT/MJG/PA