JEDDAH — If the Ministry of Health allocates 25 percent of its SR60 billion budget to providing medical insurance to public sector employees, it will be able to fully cover all government employees, insurance and medical experts agreed.
The majority of Saudis, except government officials, have access to medical insurance just like expatriates. Saudis working in the private sector as well as military personnel generally have access to better medical care.
Speaking to Al-Madinah daily, Dr. Abdalelah S. Saaty, dean of the College of Business at King Abdulaziz University, said he conducted a study showing that the ministry can allocate SR15 billion to provide citizens who are not working in the military sector with medical insurance.
According to the study, this can achieved by transforming government-run hospitals to private ones and allowing global insurance companies to enter the Saudi market.
“The ministry will insure 15 million citizens only while expatriates will get insurance from their employers. The ministry will play a supervisory and monitory role. Currently, the medical services offered are not up to par in terms of the size of the country,” Saaty said.
Professor Yasser Jamal, a doctor, agreed that the ministry can provide better services to citizens if it focuses on providing each citizen with insurance instead of burdening government hospitals with a lot of patients and leaving private sector hospitals to take advantage of citizens who do not have insurance.
“If the ministry takes this step, it will give it a good chance to focus on its real task: supervising the health sector and setting healthcare rules and regulations,” Jamal said.
Dr. Mohsin Al-Hazmi, chairman of the Health Committee in the Shoura Council, said the study related to insurance for citizens is being reviewed and the results will be sent to higher authorities for approval. He also said the real problem lies in the fact that not all of the Kingdom’s regions have healthcare services due to the small number of hospitals.
“One of the main conditions of applying insurance is to have healthcare services all over the country,” he said.
Khaldoon Barakat, former chairman of the Medical Insurance Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said universal insurance can be applied only when citizens realize how to utilize it.
“Misusing the insurance system can increase healthcare costs. There should be full awareness programs for all citizens and households and this will take a long time,” he said.
Essam Khalifah, member of the Saudi Economic Society, said studies have shown that providing citizens with insurance can save a significant portion of the Ministry of Health’s SR60 billion budget. This will also alleviate the suffering of citizens who have to wait to see a doctor in a government hospital because they cannot afford the high costs of private hospitals.
“If we apply health insurance to 18 million people — the total Saudi population of the country — at the rate of SR2,000 per person annually, the total cost will not exceed SR36 billion. This amount will reduce the burden on the ministry. The government can ask all ministries and government agencies to get their staff insured just like Saudi Aramco does with its employees,” Khalifah said.