MoH details fee increases for expatriates, visitors

Hospital stays, surgeries, deliveries no longer free

KUWAIT: According to a ministerial decree issued by Health Minister Jamal Al-Harbi on Tuesday, the new health fees that will be paid by expatriates for using services at public hospitals and polyclinics will be as follows from Oct 1: Fees for expats who pay annual health insurance:

The fee for getting medical treatment at the polyclinic will increase from KD 1 to KD 2; the fee for getting medical treatment at a public hospital will increase from KD 2 to KD 5; the fee for outpatient clinics at public hospitals will increase from KD 2 to KD 10; a stay in public wards will cost KD 10 per day (free currently); a stay in the intensive care unit will cost KD 30 per day (free currently); a stay in a private room at a public hospital will cost KD 50 per day, and the deposit for the private room will cost KD 200. The fees include receiving medical treatment at outpatient clinics, medication, regular x-rays and regular laboratory tests. The fees for a stay in hospital do not include surgeries, laboratory tests and x-rays.

Medical checkups at the public maternity hospital will cost KD 10 and delivery charges will be KD 50 (free currently). This includes the delivery, ultrasound, laboratory tests, medication and hospital stay for three nights. For each additional night, the patient will pay KD 10 for a stay in the public ward and KD 50 in a private room. (These services are currently free of charge, apart from the private room).

For open heart surgeries, diagnostic catheterization will cost KD 90, and each stent will cost KD 250. The cost of these surgeries does not include medication, x-rays, laboratory tests and hospital stay.

Fees for visitors:

The fee for getting medical treatment at the polyclinic will cost KD 10 (not including medication, x-rays and laboratory tests); the fee for getting medical treatment at a public hospital will cost KD 20; the fee for outpatient clinics at public hospitals will cost KD 30; a stay in public wards will cost KD 70 per day; a stay in the intensive care unit will cost KD 220 per day; physiotherapy for patients staying at the hospital will cost KD 30 per session; a stay in a private room at a public hospital will cost KD 130 per day, and the deposit for the private room will cost KD 300 and KD 150 for the public ward.

For visitors, a major surgery will cost KD 500, medium-risk surgery KD 300 and minor surgery KD 250. Surgery that needs specialized skills will cost KD 600. Kidney stone fragmentation will cost KD 150 per session. Outpatient one-day surgery will cost KD 100. Maternity checkup will cost KD 30, and a natural delivery will cost KD 400.

Separately, a committee responsible for developing the insurance market in Kuwait completed reviewing a study by Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) and reached a decision that second-party insurance must be raised. The study said that prices should be raised by between KD 4 to KD 5 on top of the current prices. The decision was submitted to the interior ministry for review.