Mohamed Maait, the Minister of Finance and Head of the Comprehensive Health Insurance System, has announced that more than 100 new medical services will be added to the health insurance system within six months.
This came after the permanent committee responsible for pricing medical services completed a study on their costs and developed flexible price lists to serve as a basis for contracting between the Public Authority for Health Insurance and approved service providers in the government and private sectors.
He added that the price list covers more than 3,000 medical services and that the law singles out the permanent committee for pricing medical services to set the price list, which is binding and represents the legal basis for contracting with medical service providers.
Ahmed Abu Taleb, the Chairperson of the committee, said that members of this committee include Egyptian, international, and independent experts, some of whom represent health care service providers in the private sector, the General Authority for Health Care, cost experts in hospitals, the Supreme Council of University Hospitals, the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the World Bank.
It also includes university professors specialised in calculating the costs of medical services. All of this reflects the committee’s ability to set fair prices for medical services through correct scientific foundations, so that these flexible lists that are subject to continuous updates are a reference for the market of pricing medical services in Egypt.
Maait added that it would be illogical for each service provider to individually set the prices for these services, pointing out that the main evidence that the list of prices is “fair” is that it was used with most of the private medical institutions registered with the General Authority for Healthcare Accreditation and Regulation.
He explained that one of the main aspects the committee relied on before approving the price list is having the prices approved by the Ministry of Health and Population to calculate the cost of service in the presidential initiative to eliminate waiting lists, a large part of which was implemented through private hospitals.
