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Health insurance plan approved, nears implementation after 20 years
Ahmed Al-Kharasani, a member of the preparatory committee for implementing the health insurance law, said the health insurance system would effectively provide health insurance for insured government employees. He said the law would help protect locals against the dangers of disease.
Al-Kharasani said the health plan was supposed to be implemented long ago.
“The preparation of the health insurance system was directed in 1991,” Al-Kharasani said. “Since that time, the government has been making an effort to continue to make this a reality.”
The Ministry of Public Health and Population endeavors to finalize the finishing touches to ready the law and make it effective on the ground, Al-Kharasani said.
“The ministry prepared an executive draft of this law, and it was discussed with the cabinet. The cabinet approved of the law; nothing remains but the republican decree.”
Al-Kharasani said the name of the Social Health Insurance was carefully selected, indicating that this name requires the participation of insured employees and the government.
This system is obligatory to include all government employees, according to Al-Kharasani; in another stage, it will cover all Yemenis.
He said the insurance system will be managed through two authorities: the Public Authority for Health Insurance and the Health Insurance Fund.
“The country will be in charge of supervising this system with absolute neutrality.”
For his part, Dr. Adel Al-Emad, head of a company specializing in health insurance, said this law would misfire before it starts.
Al-Emad said there are studies indicating that the financial sums will be insufficient to provide medicine for all those the bill encompasses. An individual’s income must be high, he said.
“This law requires great trust in government institutions; the trust is non-existent. If we were in a country accountable for all its deeds, the government would not take such a risk that could cause losses.”
The ministry set up a committee to assess health facilities. The committee will start working in the days to come. The committee will determine the shortcomings of the facilities, ordering them to remedy their downsides, said Al-Kharasani, adding that tackling the shortcomings will give the facilities a chance to have contracts with the insurance system.
“Among the problems hindering the health insurance law is the unqualified hospitals.”
Al-Kharasani said contracts would not be made with unqualified hospitals. Al-Emad said the health insurance law will improve health services.
