Dr. Abdel Rahman al-Saqqa, president of the Medical Insurance Authority, on Wednesday said the authority suffers a deficit of LE12 billion, explaining that the total budget is LE4 billion, while it should be LE16 billion for the authority to be able to provide a proper service.
Saqqa warned that the authority would not be able to sustain medical services for more than three months should all subscribers depend on it 100 percent, explaining that many subscribers prefer to pay for their medical care at private hospitals, as they provide better services.
Saqqa suggested that the government offset the deficit by paying 3 percent of the subscription instalments normally paid by pensioners, another 3 percent of those paid by widows, and contribute LE12 towards subscriptions paid on behalf of each pre-school child.
For his part, Dr. Abdel Hamid Abaza, assistant health minister for technical affairs, said the final version of the new medical insurance draft law would be completed by mid-October.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
