Patients across Iran face ruinous medical expenses and fatal delays as the country’s state insurance funds have effectively stopped protecting them from the cost of care. It is death
as households struggle to afford essential medicines, diagnostic tests, and equipment.
What is confirmed is that more than 80 percent of treatment costs are now paid directly by patients, according to Es’haghi, who stated that insurance funds have effectively gone bankrupt without admitting it publicly. Reports from clinics in Tehran and rural areas reveal that insured patients must wait weeks or months for diagnostic services, or pay privately out of pocket when state facilities lack equipment like ultrasound and mammography. Es’haghi cited the case of a rural couple who sold their sheep and a Pride car after being told a heart valve cost 13 billion rials—about $5,000, or six and a half years of the minimum wage—only to be told they needed a higher-quality valve costing 42 billion rials.
Strained Facilities and Bankrupt Insurers
Official figures show that nearly 9.9 million people insured by the Social Security Organization in Tehran province rely on just 36 medical facilities, equating to roughly one polyclinic for every 620,000 insured individuals. Patients seeking care described severe financial barriers, including a carpet weaver suffering from abdominal pain who had to wait until her carpet sold to afford prescribed imaging and examinations. Es’haghi rejected the argument that the crisis is caused solely by war and sanctions, pointing instead to corruption and poor decision-making by authorities.
Unanswered Questions
It remains unconfirmed how the government intends to address the insolvency of its insurance funds or whether parliament will take legislative action to curb escalating treatment costs. Authorities accused of corruption and poor decision-making have not yet answered how they plan to relieve the financial pressure forcing farming families to sell their assets for medical care.
