Africa - Egypt: Health insurance Bill ready to be sent to Parliament
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Jun 2016
The Health Ministry has completed drafting the new health insurance Bill and will send it to Parliament for ratification, said Minister of Health Ahmed Emad.
The move follows months of contention between the Health Ministry and the Doctors Syndicate since the Bill's drafting in 2015. The draft Bill has been passed back and forth between the two sides with the Doctors Syndicate alleging there were gaps in the provisions.
According to statements by the Doctors Syndicate's Secretary General Dr Mona Mina, the latest version of the Bill is the best version thus far, as it covers a wider array of ailments that were previously excluded. These include mental health illnesses, injuries suffered in natural disasters, and preventative treatment, reported the Daily News Egypt.
A number of articles in the Bill, however, remains unamended, raising concerns among the medical syndicate. These articles relate to the definition of people in need of insurance who will be subsidised by the state, the rights of doctors and medical service providers, and actuarial studies needed to implement the health insurance scheme.
The new medical insurance scheme aims to cover the entire population of 90 million by imposing compulsory monthly subscriptions on all Egyptians. The Bill states that government coffers will completely cover those who cannot afford the health insurance, estimated to comprise 42% of the population, according to the Health Ministry. But the Doctors Syndicate said that the draft law provides a loose definition of such groups.
For the purposes of the insurance scheme, the government will enter into healthcare contracts with private and public hospitals alike based on quality standards. However, critics fear that this will favour the private sector because state-run hospitals are in decay due to the lack of spending. Officials argue instead that incorporating privately-owned hospitals in the scheme will expand healthcare coverage.