RIYADH, 26 May — The Cooperative Health Insurance Council (CHIC) has canceled the clause in its executive bylaw which set a minimum premium of SR1,000 and a maximum benefit of SR250,000, informed sources have told Arab News.
They said the council revised Article 36 of the bylaw after the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry called for the article’s cancellation.
The businessmen opposed the minimum premium condition because it was against the free market system followed by the Kingdom.
Abdul Rahman Al-Jeraisy, chairman of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, earlier said the article was “a bone of contention” and that fixing the minimum premium did not come under CHIC’s jurisdiction.
The contracting sector, which employs the largest number of expatriates, has vehemently opposed the minimum premium condition.
There are 71,245 contracting companies, which represent 40 percent of the total commercial registrations in the country.
According to figures issued in the year 2000, the sector accounts for 15.7 percent of the total number of the work force.
However, insurance company sources expected a higher a insurance premium that would exceed SR1,000, due to the increase in the amount of minimum benefits and medical coverage.
An employee or his sponsor has to pay 20 percent of the expenditures when he visits an outpatient clinic, or a minimum of SR20 and maximum of SR100.
The sources emphasized the need to implement two types of insurance schemes in terms of benefits and limits in coverage: the first for limited income groups like laborers and the second for higher income groups like engineers and bankers.
The new insurance system will be implemented on companies with 500 or more non-Saudi employees in the first phase.
In the second phase, it will be applied on companies with 100 or more expatriate workers. In the third phase it will be applied on all expatriate workers including maids and house drivers.
