Mandatory health cover from next year

All the companies in the Sultanate have been urged to abide by the plan to provide health cover to the employees, Rashid al Musalhi (pictured) said.

He said some small and medium enterprises (SMEs) may not be able to include their employees under the scheme for lack of funds.

“A unified insurance scheme with the help of all private hospitals and insurance companies should be introduced so that all employees get the benefits,” he said.

Such a system will regulate and streamline services, he added.

Several big companies are already providing their employees with health insurance. According to OCCI data, there are 75 consulting offices, 374 international companies and 1,887 excellent level companies also help the health in the Sultanate. Welcoming the decision, health experts and social workers opined that mandatory health insurance will help citizens and foreign workers avail of better medical services. “This will help get a better spread of patients between private and public hospitals.

At present, government hospitals and clinics are overloaded with patients. This affects the quality of service and results in a long period of waiting for appointment or surgery,” said Ali Jafed, a physician.

According to Tariq al Balushi, a public relations officer, companies should do this voluntarily.

“It is the social responsibility of the companies to take care of the health of their employees.

Hence, there should not be any laxity in this regard,” he said.