CAIRO: The parliament's health committee has criticized allegations that the draft medical insurance law is unconstitutional, saying that the law would provide the country with a higher quality of health care. Dr Hamdy El Sayyed, head of the People Assembly's health committee, told Daily News Egypt that the new law will noticeably raise the quality and services provided by all hospitals in Egypt and will cater to the needs and abilities of all social classes. He said that some officials and legislators claim that obligatory subscription fees that citizens will be required to pay in accordance with the proposed law, conflict with the constitution. But El Sayyed explained that the government has been implementing the insurance law since 1964 and that subscription fees have always been automatically deducted from peoples' salaries. He said there are other obligatory laws that are being imposed on citizens like mandatory car insurance, which requires all citizens to pay subscription fees. El Sayyed said the benefit of the new law will vastly spread in all segments of society. "Who doesn't want Egypt to have better quality health care instead of the weak system we have in the medical insurance association? I believe that this law will allow for a better dialogue and a clearer context and citizens will hopefully change their opinion about the government, said El Sayyed. He added that the PA's health committee will be meeting during Ramadan to debate the economic aspects of the law and methods of implementation. "I know that some people may have fears about some of the articles in the law but we have taken serious steps to modify them to reach a compromise and clarify any ambiguities, said El Sayyed. However, other members of the health committee still believe the law is unconstitutional. One member, Dr Farid Ismail, told Daily News Egypt that the law contradicts the constitution in two main points. The constitution says that the government is responsible for providing free health care for citizens, says Ismail, while the new medical insurance law states that citizens are obliged to pay fixed subscription fees and 30 percent of the total bill of the hospital in which they will be treated. The second contradiction, he added, is that the law mandates that the subscription fee collection must take place before the new law is implemented. This means that citizens will be paying fees for a medical service they will not be getting. "These two main render this new law unconstitutional. How can a poor citizen pay 30 percent of the total bill when he is already sick and needy? Why should citizens be obliged to pay subscription fees even before the law is implemented? said Ismail. He added that the existing medical insurance law, notorious for providing low quality services, will be supervising the implementation phases of the new law. "For this law to be implemented, there must be a new independent committee to supervise it . what difference will it make if the ailing medical insurance association continues supervising the implementation of the new law? questioned Ismail.
