New health insurance draft law ready, to be launched next year
The Ministry of Public Health said it has completed work on a draft law for establishing a new health insurance system in the country, reported The Peninsula.
The draft law will be submitted to the Cabinet this month for action and the first phase of the new insurance system will be launched next year, the ministry said.
The new system will replace Seha, the national health insurance scheme terminated on December 31 last year.
Services of the National Health Insurance Company (NHIC) were also stopped following a government decision to transfer health cover to private insurance companies.
“The draft law includes the ideal strategy for health cover with necessary legal framework for establishment of comprehensive health insurance system,” the ministry said in a statement.
Private insurance companies will provide health cover at the highest level of efficiency and professionalism.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet issued a decision to form a committee headed by the Minister of Finance to invite tenders from private companies, immediately after the issuance of the new health insurance law to provide health cover to citizens and review the basic health services package, benefits, financial limits and installments.
The new health insurance system aims to introduce comprehensive health cover with quality services that are easy accessible with diverse benefits, said the statement.
The Ministry said it plans a survey to collect feedback from society and health service providers on the new health insurance system. The survey will be conducted from July to September.
Citizens will benefit from the new health insurance system when its first phase is launched in 2017, the Ministry said, adding it will update on the draft law and developments regarding the new system in the near future.
Courtesy: thepeninsulaqatar.com
The original scheme has been canceled. This is what is replacing it. But it is not clear what is the situation for the residents in the above article.
This is the information I got some time ago.
Qatar's National Vision 2030 sets out the Qatari government's goal of improving the health of Qatar's population by developing a world class and integrated health care system to be delivered through the National Health Strategy 2011- 2016. The goal is to provide a national health insurance scheme accessible to all Qatar citizens, residents and visitors ("Scheme"). This Scheme is being implemented in five phases, phase 1 of the Scheme was launched in July 2013 and is currently in the 5th and final stage of implementation and should be fully rolled out by the end of 2015. The Scheme means that it will become mandatory for all employers (and sponsors of residence) of expatriate staff working and residing in Qatar to pay health premiums to cover basic medical care for all expatriate employees and their families.
The payment of the premiums - linked to visa applications or renewals - will have a significant impact on a company's running costs in Qatar, particularly for large organisations. Penalties for non-compliance with the Health Insurance Law could be up to QAR 100,000 (cUS$ 27,000) or even imprisonment for the responsible person - whether a company officer or an individual sponsoring a domestic worker.
ONLY FOR CITIZENS.
Nothing for the residents.
Is this new law applicable only to citizens? I had heard that all employers are required to provide health insurance coverage via private companies to all employees (citizens and residents).
Very happy, indeed.
Not long to go now ... So happy