JEDDAH, 26 August 2006 — Health Minister Dr. Hamad Al-Manie said yesterday that seven million expatriates in the Kingdom would come under the cooperative health insurance scheme by the end of this year.
“We have made all arrangements for the successful implementation of the scheme,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted him as saying.
Health insurance has been made mandatory for expatriates working in the country who will require a certificate proving their membership in an insurance scheme to obtain or renew work-resident permits (iqamas). The minister commended the cooperation of major private companies in implementing the scheme.
He said number of clients that have joined the cooperative health insurance program has increased 335.5 percent, from 60,179 to 262,055 clients, within five weeks. “We have approved 393 health service providers in different parts of the Kingdom,” said the minister.
According to the latest economic report issued by National Commercial Bank (NCB), the Kingdom’s cooperative health insurance scheme would fetch SR30 billion in investment and create a large number of jobs for Saudis. NCB predicted that the Kingdom’s insurance market would jump from SR8 billion to SR18 billion within the next five years. According to Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Mirghalani, health insurance coverage is available throughout the Kingdom. “We have not excluded health-related firms such as health insurance companies and private health insurance providers from joining the scheme,” he said.
Meanwhile, the NCB report said the Kingdom would require SR22.3 billion in investment through 2010 to meet the goals of expanding the capacities of the hospitals to meet demand.
The report gave an overview of hospital beds available in major cities of the Kingdom quoting statistics of 2004.
