The head of the Social Security Organization (SSO) said 56% of those covered under social security receive a monthly minimum pension of about $200.
Dr. Taghi Noorbakhsh said pension recipients comprise a large number of the country’s 75 million population and although the organization faced a $ 1.7 billion budget deficit when the new government took office, “they are nevertheless committed to ensuring the welfare and livelihood’’ of people covered by the organization, reported ISNA.
New Hospitals
Noorbakhsh said the allocation of $3.3 billion by the government under the health care system “is a sign of the importance of social security.” Some new hospitals affiliated to the SSO will open in six cities and three more hospitals will be constructed in three other cities to be added to the existing 300 medical centers in the country. The hospital in Yazd city will provide cancer services to the insured, he said.
He also alluded to the social toll of smoking saying “$3.3 billion is spent to buy 50 billion cigarettes annually, which is equivalent to the total health expenditure of the nation.”
