Sisi hopes for successful implementation of health insurance system in Port Said

CAIRO - 26 November 2019: “I hope the comprehensive health insurance system is successfully implemented in Port Said. I hope to see a step forward in the treatment provided to people," said President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi on Tuesday.

This came during the inauguration a number of national projects in Port Said and North Sinai governorates.

For his side, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said that the new comprehensive health insurance system meets the needs of the Egyptian people for a better medical service as it covers the entire family treatment over an estimated period of time.

The minister added during his speech in the opening, “The average cost of treatment per person is LE 2,100, and if we cover the 100 million citizens, we will need LE 210 billion. Hence, we are gradually applying the system.”

He said that the average cost per person in the comprehensive health insurance system at the end of the next 15 years will reach LE 6,000 per person, which means that the cost of comprehensive health insurance for all citizens will reach LE 600 billion.

Maait explained that the system will be financed through the contributions of citizens, which represents 30 to 40 percent, and additional resources represented in the taxes on tobacco and cigarettes as well as the contribution of the State Treasury.

In a recorded speech during the opening, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus congratulated President Sisi and the Egyptian people on launching a universal health insurance system.

"I want to be with you, but I cannot. I send congratulations to you, your government and the Egyptian people on this wonderful occasion. You are writing a new chapter in your long history of achievements," Ghebreyesus said.

Ghebreyesus explained that the comprehensive health insurance law issued in 2018 is a major step forward and this is a right guaranteed by the 2014 constitution which says that every citizen has the right to comprehensive health insurance and if it goes right, it will extend to 58 percent of Egyptians.