Kuwait: Lawmakers pass Bill mandating foreign visitors to buy health insurance
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Apr 2019
Kuwait’s Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to approve a draft law that would make it mandatory for visitors to have health insurance that covers the duration of their stay in the country.
Without the medical insurance policy, the Interior Ministry will not issue the visit visa, reported Gulf News.
The main objective of the legislation is to prevent foreigners visiting Kuwait from becoming a public burden by seeking medical services at the country’s public health facilities.
Some MPs said that some foreigners came to Kuwait on a visit visa, but took advantage of the generous health system to undergo medical treatment.
Kuwait has been pushing for a tougher approach in the medical sector towards foreigners following complaints by lawmakers about the deterioration of health services due to congestion caused by foreigners who make up two thirds of the total population.
Measures targeting foreigners included steeply increasing heath charges, making insurance policies mandatory and limiting the services of some hospitals.
The idea of confining medical services in public hospitals to Kuwaitis was first mooted in 2013 when a hospital in Jahra, west of the capital Kuwait City, said it would accept only Kuwaitis in the morning. However, expatriates could have access to doctors for treatment in emergency cases.
The law endorsed by the Parliament will be referred to the government, which will have one month to issue regulations after the publication of the law in the official gazette. M