A bill that will institute universal health insurance coverage to Egypt’s citizens is to continue to be drafted over the next two weeks, preceding a review by the newly elected parliamentary body, according to Minister of Health Ahmed Emad El-Din..
The bill proposes to provide full coverage to those individuals who receive less than EGP 375 per month and families of five members who receive fewer than EGP 1,550 per month.
As the total health share expenditures increased from an annual average of EGP 80bn to EGP 120bn in 2015, certain members of the Egyptian cabinet have expressed concern over the budgetary mechanisms of a bill that is to provide health insurance to the lowest-income households of Egyptian society.
An ad-hoc ministerial committee was formed to work on finding new ways of funding, such as subscriptions.
“My main goal is to bring this law to light,” Emad El-Din told state run news agency MENA, after a press conference held to address the cabinet discussions. “Without an effective health insurance system, we will never be a developed country.”
Drawing from the precedent set by other health insurance systems set in other countries, the new bill partitions funding, monitoring, and performance mechanisms by launching independent authorities for each role. The three authorities will interface with the Egyptian President Al-Sisi directly, bypassing the Ministry of Health.
If the bill is ratified, access to healthcare will be managed electronically through the use of national identification cards, while those who have not yet registered in the national identification system will be able to pay the coverage premium retroactively.
