Over half a million Egyptians have registered in the first phase of the new healthcare insurance system, launched in Port Said governorate in July 2019, Egypt’s Health Ministry announced on Tuesday.
“Some 542,782 Egyptians have been registered in the new system’s records, and 166,827 family files have been opened in Port said,” the ministry added.
According to ُEgypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS), Port Said’s population is estimated at 715,012 in January 2019.
Egypt’s health minister Hala Zayed reviewed the registration procedures in the new healthcare insurance system, and observed the pharmaceutical stock for the availability of all the required medicines, ministry spokesperson Khaled Megahed said.
Megahed said Zayed listened to Egyptians who registered in the system to gauge their viewpoints about the medical services provided, adding that she asked the staff to facilitate procedures to the people.
More than 1.5 million Egyptians have registered in the experimental phase of the system which covers six governorates (Port Said, Ismailia, Aswan, Suez, and South Sinai) with a total cost of EGP 1.5 billion.
The new system will cover all Egyptians. The older system covered 60 percent of the population.
The healthcare system is scheduled to cover all of Egypt’s governorates by 2032.
According to Egypt’s finance minister Mohamed Maait, the total cost of the new system is expected to hit EGP 210 billion annually once the entire population, estimated at 100 million, register in the new system by 2032.
Timeline
The second phase will be launched from 2020 to 2023 in Luxor, Matrouh, the Red Sea, Qena and Aswan governorates.
The third phase, from 2024 to 2026, will cover Alexandria, Beheira, Damietta, Sohag and Kafr El-Sheikh.
The fourth, from 2026 to 2028, will kick off in Beni Sweif, Assiut, Minya, the New Valley and Fayoum.
The fifth phase, from 2029 to 2030, will cover Daqahliya, Sharqiya, Gharbiya and Menoufiya.
The last phase, from 2031 to 2032, will cover Cairo, Giza and Qalioubiya.
Source: Ahram Online
