Fatima Muhammad
Saudi Gazette
THE planned new health insurance system will oblige all companies to provide insurance cover to their employees and families. The new system will allow working men to enjoy health insurance irrespective of the number of wives and children, an official at the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance (CCHI) told Saudi Gazette.
“A company is, however, not responsible for providing health insurance to the employee’s parents and siblings if they are under his guardianship. In this case, the employee shall pay the insurance fees,” Faisal Al-Rakaf, director of customer service at the CCHI, said.
The official was speaking during a seminar at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce to introduce the new regulations which will be effective immediately.
As for working women, Al-Rakaf said they and their family members should be provided with health insurance in specific conditions. “Working Saudi women have the right to get health insurance for their husbands and children if they provide official documents proving their spouses are retired, unemployed or are working for the public sector.”
Replying to a question, Al-Rakaf said. “If the wife is enjoying in her work a better health insurance class, and her husband is working for another company at a lesser health insurance class, she cannot ask her employer to give her insurance to her kids and husband since they are already enjoying an insurance from the husband’s company.”
All employees of the private sector, both Saudis and expatriates, are placed on a system provided by the council to ensure that they are getting the health insurance. The council will link its data with the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) and the two will be linked to each other before the end of 2016, Al-Rakaf said.
He said it has been found that a large number of Saudis in the private sector have no health insurance and by linking the two government bodies the health insurance will be more organized.
“If a person gets married while working the company is obliged to provide his wife and children with health insurance,” said the official. “The system does not permit employers to allow for singles only contracts. If the employee gets married, the company must provide insurance to the family. Any manipulation is considered a violation.”
The new system also obliges all companies to provide health insurance to women including coverage of pregnancy and delivery. “Previously there were some contracts that excluded almost every illness from the insurance, this will not be allowed anymore,” said Al-Rakaf.
“We want quality insurance and we seek to serve all parties including health insurance companies, health care providers and companies, but our main concern is to provide quality healthcare to employees and their families.”
To achieve this, he said, they have closed down a number of insurance companies that provide insurance cards which are of no value except to finalize Jawazat (Passport Department) procedures. “I am not convinced that there is a quality health insurance for SR260. This is fake insurance and we do not want to leave room for such offices to make money and provide no real service,” stressed the official.
The health insurance sector is booming in Saudi Arabia and he described it as being “a young sector” since only 12 million individuals are registered under the system. The new system he said gives more rights to employees who are above 60 years old. “Previously, the system obliged companies to provide health insurance to employees until they reach the age of 60, the new system however does not specify any maximum age.”
Al-Rakaf said the new regulation is explained in a document approved by a ministerial resolution to modify the cooperative health insurance system in the Kingdom.
The system will be applied in four gradual stages based on the number of employees in different companies. The first stage will include companies that have more than 100 employees and the deadline to implement the system is next July. The second includes companies that have 50 to 99 employees and the deadline is October this year. The third stage will have companies that have 25 to 49 employees and should meet the system requirement by January 2017. The last stage will include companies that have less than 25 employees and this group should implement the system by April 2017.
