CAIRO, July 29, 2018- Finance Miniser Mohamed Ma'it said Egypt has been taking steps to have a comprehensive medical coverage since 2005, adding that having a comprehensive coverage is very difficult even in major economies. He said the Finance Ministry cooperated with the Health Ministry and other ministries concerned to move from having an individual medical coverage to a family one. He said half of Egyptians have a comprehensive medical coverage but those who benefited from it are the ones who are subjected to the medical insurance law of 1979. Having a comprehensive medical insurance is very important as it will lower poverty rate but of course it will take time to place 100 million people under the medical insurance umbrella. To guarantee the success of the new mechanism, all the society should be engaged in it to offer better services to citizens at all hospitals, he said. Upon the directives of President Sisi, the minister said, 540 hospitals will be rehabilitated to lower patients' waiting lists for surgery, saying the first phase of Egypt's new national health insurance system will be applied in Port Said by the end of the year at a cost ranging between LE1.8 to 2 billion. The new health insurance system is estimated to cost some LE18 billion, he said, adding it will be an obligatory system to which all segments of society should contribute according to their income. This, the minister noted, will help achieve social peace. The new system will not only apply to government hospitals, but to private facilities as well, Ma'it made it clear. "Both the public and private sectors with the army should compete to provide high-quality services that citizens rightly deserve," the minister said. But the Health Ministry remains the strategic planner that is politically responsible for the system and responsible for public health, Ma'it added. As for the finance of the new health insurance system, Mait said the premiums will be equal and the State will bear the entire process of spending, pointing out that 30 to 35% of the Egyptian people will be subsidised directly by the finance ministry. He added that the cost of services per person in the new health insurance will be an average of LE 1,849, and that if the private sector's participation is calculated, the figure will be LE 2,500. The minister pointed out that the new insurance system needs time in order to stabilise and yield good results. He also offered an actuarial view of the new health insurance over the next 15 years, showing diversity of the funding resources of the new system.
