Egypt's new comprehensive healthcare insurance system guarantees offering high-quality medical services to all segments of the society without any discrimination, the Health Ministry said in a statement on Monday. The new system gives beneficiaries the freedom to choose their health service providers and reduces personal spending on medical care, said the statement that was issued following a press conference held by Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly to announce the launch of the new healthcare system in Port Said. Financially challenged citizens will be exempted from subscription fees, the statement said. The pilot stage of the new system will be applied in Port Said through 11 general and specialized hospitals and 32 healthcare units. Under the new system, citizens will head for the nearest health unit to their place of residence and conduct any type of medical tests they need. These units will refer them to hospitals if necessary to make advanced tests. The new system will cover all governorates by 2032. The efficiency of Port Said hospitals were increased over the past six months to implement the new system. Among the medical services to be provided in the new system are open-heart surgery, bone-marrow transplantation, kidney and liver specialities, neurology and micro-surgery. The new system's second phase will start from 2021 to 2023 in the Luxor, Matrouh, Red Sea, Qena and Aswan governorates. The third phase, from 2024 to 2026, will be in the Alexandria, Beheira, Damietta, Sohag and Kafr Al-Sheikh governorates. The fourth, from 2026 to 2028, will be in the Beni Sweif, Assiut, Minya, New Valley and Fayoum governorates. The fifth phase will start from 2029 to 2030 in the Daqahliya, Sharqiya, Gharbiya and Menoufiya governorates. The last will be from 2031 to 2032 in the Cairo, Giza and Qalioubiya governorates.
