Penalties for offenders in Health Insurance Bill

CAIRO – 24 December 2017: The Health Insurance Bill approved by the parliament last week indicated different penalties for all acts deterring law enactment by government officials or private individuals. The executive regulations are being articulated as the law will be put into effect on June 30.

1) Abstention from providing correct information required by law or providing false information incurs either a minimum of six months in prison or a fine ranging from LE 2,000 to LE 10,000 or both.
2) Preventing officials from the General Authority for Health Insurance from entering any workplace or checking any documents indicated by law incurs a prison sentence of minimum six months or a fine ranging from LE 20,000 to LE 100,000 or both.
3) Any official in the authority or contracting doctors and pharmacists who facilitates providing a service or medicine or artificial limb to anyone who does not need it would be penalized by either minimum one year in prison or a fine ranging from LE 50,000 to LE 75,000 or both.
4) The same penalty applies to any insurer who receives medicine or artificial limbs and gives them to someone else in return of money. The same penalty applies to intermediaries in the selling process and to all parties involved.
5) Any service provider or insurer or official who deliberately provides false claims for services that were not provided or made non-insurers benefit from the system would be penalized by minimum one year in prison or a fine ranging from LE 100,000 to LE 200,000 or both.
6) Any officials or business owners who abstain from delivering insurers’ premiums would be fined in a value ranging from LE 20,000 to LE 50,000.
7) Any business owner or official presiding over a public institution who does not register employees in the authority would be penalized by maximum one year in prison or a fine ranging from LE 5,000 to LE 50,000.
8) The same penalty applies to the same individuals, if they charge insurers different amounts from what is indicated in the law. Offenders are obliged to return the extra sums collected. The penalty increases as the number of victims increases.