The price of the new mandatory health insurance policy for expatriates working in the private sector in Kuwait will be KWD130 ($430) a year per person when the scheme commences, according to Health Assurance Hospitals Company (Dhaman) CEO Thamer Arab. Dhaman is providing the coverage.
This premium will increase by KWD20 every two years until it reaches the maximum limit of KWD190, according to local media reports.
At present, private-sector personnel are covered by mandatory health insurance provided by the Ministry of Health for KWD50 a year. Additional fees are charged for radiology, laboratory and other services in government centres and hospitals.
The new Dhaman insurance policy will cover all aspects of healthcare, including medical consultation, diagnosis, treatment and cost of medicine. The new service will apply to all expatriates in Kuwait including their dependents who have resident status.
The KWD130 premium per person also applies to expatriates who are aged at least 60 and expatriates with chronic diseases. Anyone who has private health insurance is not exempt from the mandatory insurance with Dhaman.
Mr Arab said the pricing of the Dhaman health insurance policy is based on a set of extensive studies by the Ministry of Health and other government agencies. The average cost of healthcare borne by Kuwait per person annually is equivalent to KWD413. He added that the government’s annual spending on healthcare totals KWD867m on the six public hospitals and affiliated centres.
Dhaman is not a health insurance company nor a group of healthcare institutions, said Mr Arab. Instead, it represents an integrated system of health insurance based on the maintenance of health, which focuses on prevention and awareness. It covers primary and secondary care including many specialties such as family medicine, dentistry, paediatrics, surgery, emergency, obstetrics and gynaecology, internal medicine, orthopaedics, physiotherapy and intensive care with pharmacy, radiology, diagnostic imaging and laboratories services. M