Egypt launches health insurance smart card system

CAIRO – 12 March 2018: The use of information technology in our daily lives has been on the rise, health insurance information systems have now become reality in Egypt.

Prime Minister Sherif Ismail witnessed on Sunday the signing of a cooperation protocol between the ministries of health and communications to automate the comprehensive health insurance system in Egypt.

In a press conference held at the Cabinet, Minister of Health Ahmed Emad said that the new system will initially include the geographical distribution of Port Said city’s residents, where the new health insurance law will be first applied.

Minister of Communications Yasser El Kady said his ministry will provide citizens with unified smart cards that include all necessary information required for health insurance system, such as medical records, in accordance with the cooperation protocol.

In December 2017, the Parliament approved the comprehensive health insurance law drafted by the government and submitted in October after discussing the Health Committee’s report on the law.

The law provides free health care for citizens who cannot afford to pay. These account for 30-40 percent of the population. Subscription would be obligatory for those who can afford covering treatment costs for all diseases. The sources of funding would include fees paid by citizens, donations, tax on cigarettes, and others increasing from three to six sources.

The new law mandates establishing three new administrative bodies to manage the new system: a financing body; a healthcare body that delivers the service in primary healthcare units and hospitals; and a body that will handle accreditation of service units and providers, quality of service, and supervision of operations.

Egypt has allocated LE 53.3 billion ($2.9 billion) in the last fiscal year 2016/2017 budget to healthcare, representing 5.7 percent of total government spending. The state spending for healthcare is seen as insufficient and far below international standards.