The Ministry of Health has halted free government treatment for Saudis working in the private sector.
Citizens will henceforth have to seek treatment through the insurance companies provided by their employers, which the ministry has stipulated as obligatory for Saudis regardless of earnings.
This decision follows recommendations from the Saudi Council of Ministers and a government workshop. The ministry applied the decision after transferring pending treatment costs for Saudis to private insurance companies.
Health Minister Abdullah Al-Rabeeah had previously recommended imposing fees on insurance companies covering Saudis for health care services provided by Health Ministry hospitals.
Free government health care is not available to expats. Private insurance, however, allows access to all government-run facilities, in addition to certain private clinics and hospitals, which are specified in insurance schemes.
“There are many Saudis who work in private companies and have been covered by medical insurance according to their employment contracts,” said Abdullah Jamjoom, HR manager at a private company. “When they need treatment, they mostly go to private hospitals. Public hospitals, however, open their doors to citizens who have no medical insurance.”
This decision will mostly affect Saudis in the private sector without contracts. Everyone else is inevitably covered, Mamdooh Salmeen, an insurance expert, told Arab News.
The number of Saudis and expats registered in health insurance schemes increased by 5.8 percent this year. In addition, there are 28 medical insurance companies and 2,206 medical service providers in the Kingdom.
The ministry recently launched an ambitious program to build 42 new hospitals with 13,645 beds in the next five years.
The ministry covers 60 percent of medical services in the Kingdom and the rest is split between private sector and government departments, such as security forces hospitals and military hospitals owned by the Ministry of Defense.
Saudis in private sector lose govt medical cover
