The Ministry of Health and Population announced earlier this week that Egypt’s Universal Health Insurance (UHI) system will be implemented in a second set of governorates.

According to Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli, the system's second phase will be officially launched at the beginning of the coming fiscal year and will last for three years.

The first phase, which began in 2018, covered six governorates. The new phase targets five additional governorates: Damietta, Minya, Kafr Al-Sheikh, North Sinai, and Marsa Matrouh. The ministry estimates that approximately 12.8 million people will benefit from the new system in the second phase at a total cost of LE120 billion.

The UHI system aims to provide universal and affordable healthcare to everyone, including anyone who does not have health insurance under the current system. It covers all medical services for beneficiaries, starting from initial medical examinations, x-rays, and medical analyses and including major surgical interventions. It is financed by premiums, with those not being able to afford them being covered by the state.

According to Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar, official spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Population, the number of hospitals set to operate within the system during the second phase will reach 65, with a total of 10,669 beds and 516 primary care centres.

“These figures are subject to adjustment based on field surveys,” Abdel-Ghaffar said. The work plan includes the development of 40 new hospitals at a cost of around LE44 billion and 516 primary care units at a cost of around LE31 billion.

Abdel-Ghaffar emphasised that “the main strategic goal is to build the well-being of citizens by ensuring access to high-quality healthcare services.” The current coverage of health insurance services is 78 per cent at an annual cost of LE10 billion, he said.

The number of beneficiaries under the health insurance system will increase to 69 million in 2024, compared to 54 million in 2014, Abdel-Ghaffar said. Additionally, services are being provided to the 8.5 million people enrolled in the Takaful and Karama social-security programme through 23 branches of the General Authority for Health Insurance.

The ministry’s decision to start implementing the second phase of the UHI was based on the success of the first phase, Ahmed Al-Sobki, head of the General Authority for Healthcare Accreditation and Regulation (GAHAR) told Al-Ahram Weekly.

Since the launching of the UHI system in 2018, over five million people in the Luxor, Ismailia, South Sinai, Port Said, Aswan, and Suez governorates have been registered, he said.

Abdel-Ghaffar noted that over 16 million family medicine services have been delivered through facilities affiliated with the General Authority for Health Insurance (GAHI) in these six governorates.

Family medicine units provide 80 per cent of the services generally required by the public. Moreover, 520,000 surgeries have been performed under the umbrella of the UHI system, with 35 per cent of these being advanced or highly skilled procedures.

According to Abdel-Ghaffar, over three million comprehensive medical examinations have been conducted for beneficiaries in the six governorates covered by the UHI system. These include routine and diagnostic tests, contributing to the early detection of diseases.

“Comprehensive medical examinations are provided free of charge and on a regular basis to beneficiaries of the system,” Abdel-Ghaffar said.

According to a recent study conducted by the Ministry of Health and Population, the average satisfaction rate among beneficiaries regarding the quality of medical services provided under the UHI system has exceeded 91 per cent.

Abdel-Ghaffar said that the establishment of 22 crisis and emergency management rooms under the unified national network for emergency and public safety services, ensuring the immediate response to crises and emergencies in accordance with international standards, has gained the approval of more than 88 per cent of the system’s beneficiaries.

The UHI system implemented in six phases is scheduled to be completed by 2030, Abdel-Ghaffar said. Priority in the first phases has been given to the smaller and less advantaged governorates. Cairo and Giza will see the implementation of the system in the final phase.

The UHI system aims to change the current system whereby 60 per cent of household income is directed to health spending.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 28 November, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the title: Expanding health insurance