The pilot operation of the comprehensive health insurance system in Port Said governorate started on Monday and is scheduled to be fully implemented in September, before expanding to four governorates as part of phase one, which will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2019 at a cost of LE1.5 billion.
By September the service will be mechanized and fees will be collected from patients in accordance with percentages determined by law. The system includes the referral of patients to hospitals when their condition requires through the health unit.
Minister of Health Hala Zayed said at a press conference at the Cabinet on Monday that the state will provide for those who cannot afford the price of treatment. The pilot operation will include the registration of poorer families.
The service will be provided through the call center or medical centers, she added.
The Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said that the cabinet has also approved a system for citizens to receive treatment abroad if it is impossible to treat them at home.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said at the conference that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has instructed the cabinet to provide health care to citizens through the Hepatitis C and breast cancer treatment initiatives.
Medbouly also referred to the Takaful and Karama program, saying that it helped reduce the poverty rate in Upper Egypt by about 45 percent.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
