Egypt: Cabinet gives nod to health insurance draft law
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | May 2017
The Egyptian cabinet has approved the country’s new health insurance draft law and will submit it to the legislative committee at the State Council for legal review, said media reports.
According to the draft law, the government is responsible for full treatment of citizens who are unable to afford the costs, said Health Minister Ahmed Emad at a press conference held at the cabinet. The Ministry of Social Solidarity will be in charge of determining which low-income citizens, comprising around 30%-40% of the population, qualify for free medical care.
In addition, three administrative bodies will be established to provide citizens with proper health service. A financing body will be responsible for gathering the contributions of citizens and the state, while a healthcare body will deliver the services in primary healthcare units and hospitals. The third entity will handle accreditation of service units and providers, quality of service, and supervision of operations.
According to Mr Emad, public hospitals will be the government’s arm in the provision of services under the proposed health insurance law and the participation of the private sector will be based on rules and standards set by the healthcare body.
Once passed by parliament and ratified by the president, the new law will be implemented gradually, starting in the Suez Canal region, said the reports. M