Dubai: The Saudi National Health Insurance Centre (NHIC) will provide free insurance cover for all Saudi citizens, local media reported.
According to the Ministry of Health’s official spokesman Dr. Mohammad Al Abdul Ali, everyone benefiting from the government health services including the jobless and social security beneficiaries, among other categories, will be covered by all health insurance programmes of the NHIC. Abdul Ali made the remarks during an interview with Al Arabiya.
All citizens will benefit from the NHIC’s healthcare services if they are not covered by other healthcare systems, programmes or services provided to them by entities other than the MoH.
Citizens who are covered by other healthcare systems, programmes, or special services that are provided to them by bodies other than the ministry will also be benefited from the NHIC services.
The beneficiaries also include Saudis working in the public and private sectors, their family members, as well as children of a Saudi mother from a non-Saudi husband residing in the kingdom or non-Saudi woman married to a Saudi, and a non-Saudi married to a Saudi woman residing in the kingdom, in the event their healthcare is not covered by a cooperative health insurance policy.
The beneficiaries of the service also include non-Saudi workers in government sectors, if they are not covered by special healthcare systems, programmes or services.
Abdul Ali stressed that the NHIC has adopted a health strategy adopted to provide free insurance coverage to citizens and give them access to free treatment.
King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saudi has earlier given approval to the Cabinet decision establishing the Health Holding Company and regulating the NHIC.
According to the Cabinet decision, the new NHIC will purchase health services provided by the Health Holding Company or its subsidiaries. The budgetary allocations for the MoH for the provision of healthcare services at all levels will be transferred to the NHIC, in accordance with the plan, phases and mechanisms decided by the supervisory committee for the privatization of the health sector.
