Kuwait : Complete Profile - What is GIS - World Health Organization

Health Systems Profile- Kuwait Regional Health Systems Observatory- EMRO
6.2 Tax-based Financing
Levels of contribution, trends, population coverage, entitlement
Not applicable
Key issues and concerns
Not applicable
6.3 Insurance
The government's policy of health insurance became effective in 1999 and was
implemented on both citizens and expatriates based on the ministry's intention to
establish hospitals for those covered by this health insurance. The ministry's aim was to
lease out these hospitals on contract basis to provide expatriates with medical facilities.
Kuwait's residents were to receive treatment at these specially designated insurance and
private hospitals. This was planned with the aim of decreasing the pressure on
government hospitals and giving them an opportunity to provide better health services
for those not covered by the health insurance system,
From 10th April, 2000 health insurance was made mandatory for expatriates. No
residence is renewed unless the premium for health insurance is paid and the renewal
period is also linked to the period of health insurance coverage. Expatriates holding
health insurance from local private insurance companies will be allowed to renew their
residence for the period of validity of the insurance. However, for holders of private
insurance, the Ministry will charge KD 4 for each visit to health clinic besides the one
dinar charge. They will also have to pay for medicine, laboratory tests and radiology
scans. Visit to the outpatient clinic will cost KD 6, stay at public hospital KD 10 per day,
KD 80 per day at an intensive care unit and KD 5 per day for stay at a psychiatric
hospital. Expatriates covered by private insurance companies will also have to pay KD 10
per visit to a birth registration clinic. The charge for normal delivery is KD 200 inclusive
of a three day stay at a hospital. Any overstay will cost KD.10 per day.
Insurance coverage exempts expatriates from paying daily inpatient charges when they
receive medical treatment in hospitals, in addition to exemption from charges of medical
operations, pharmaceuticals, and laboratory analysis and X-ray. They also receive 50%
subsidy on specialised tests and analysis such as CT-Scan, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance,
Sonar and hormonal analysis.
The Health Ministry intends to review the procedures of implementing its policy of health
insurance, Collection of charges against this health insurance and the procedures of
collecting the outstanding amounts from the insurance companies which have been
accumulating for the past five years will also be reviewed. 11
The law of Health Insurance No.1 of 1999 applies only on expatriates. All expatriates are
registered under the protection of governmental or private sector health insurance.
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