JEDDAH, 20 July 2005 — The number of people who buy health insurance is growing. Whether private or public, there is a deep divide between those who are for it and those who claim it is no more than a scam.
Some employees do not like the idea of the amount being cut from their monthly salary. “The money would be deducted from my salary in order to provide me with health insurance but the company I work for will not cover my medical expenses unless I go to certain medical centers where there are no specialists,” Maya Jameel, working for a private company, told Arab News. She prefers to decide where to go and pay herself.
James Johnson, an employee at a local company, opposed the health insurance provided by his employer. He said that most of the medical clinics are based in south Jeddah, far from his home and workplace.
“One of the ‘clinics’ is a cemetery where I would not even send my cat. If you didn’t have any disease when you went, you’d come back with one.” He said there is little point subscribing to a system where there are no benefits for him as an employee.
When a couple of companies added more hospitals for its employees, it made a difference.
Sameer Mohi, who works for a publishing company, shared his experiences with Arab News.
“When my wife got pregnant, it was a relief to know that my employer would cover almost all expenses until my wife gave birth in a good hospital.” Yet Sameer had to pay for one extra half of a room at the hospital or his wife would have had to share a room. Nevertheless, he said, he would not have been able to take his wife to a good hospital even five months ago. His employer recently added two hospitals to its insurance plan after receiving a letter which had been signed by Sameer and his colleagues.
“The company used to send us to small medical centers that are not run by skillful doctors. I had to pay more and take my family to better hospitals.”
Maram ibn Afeef, customer service team leader at an insurance company, said the company has not received many complaints from customers. People were very pleased when applying for a health insurance; especially those whose employers did not provide any insurance options.
“Complaints came from people who did not read the contract and the statements defining what the insurance covers and what it does not,” she said. Other than that, she said in 2004, BUPA, an insurance company franchised from London, received awards for its customer service department.
Nabila Taib, the division manager at Bank Al-Jazira, one of the banks that provides health insurance deals, said men and women alike are becoming more interested in getting health insurance. “Most of them are joining these types of deals in order secure their children’s future in case something happens.”
“I like to have a safety net and not worry about my children or someone dying, God forbid. I have made sure that my health and car insurances are always valid,” said Waleed Khaled, a businessman. He said a man can never predict what the future holds. Waleed added that the health insurance his company provides for him and his family is a blessing that covers expenses he cannot always afford.
Aseel Majid, an employee at a local bank, was pleased with the health insurance her employer provides. “Our bank gives us the National Company for Cooperative Insurance (NCCI); it was the No. 1 insurance company in 2005 and a lot of people consider it the best deal.”
According to Ali Abdul Rahman Al-Subaiheen, executive president of NCCI, car insurance will grow to SR5 billion and medical insurance to SR6.3 billion within the coming four years.
The Ministry of Health will activate its health insurance plan next month. The ministry has completed the establishment of a health insurance department in each province.
