Health insurance a must for residents & visitors
THE Cabinet has approved draft decision to issue the executive regulations of Law No 22 of 2021 regulating the health services in Qatar.
The Government Communications Office (GCO) on Wednesday published the details of the draft resolution on social media.
As per the draft resolution, citizens will receive free-ofcharge healthcare services at government health facilities.
Health insurance shall be mandatory to ensure the provision of basic healthcare services to expats and visitors.
The compulsory health insurance system includes the following categories: non-Qatari workers in the public and private sectors, including manual workers, craftsmen, domestic workers and visitors.
Basic healthcare services include preventive, curative and rehabilitative services, in addition to other services set forth in the executive regulations.
Employers and recruiters shall pay the premium to cover the basic services of their employees or recruits.
In addition to basic services, employers and recruiters may also request additional services subject to additional costs.
Insurance companies must provide employers — or recruiters — with health insurance cards or an equivalent, in addition to offering treatment networks (hospitals and clinics) tailored to them.
Basic healthcare services for visitors include emergency and accident treatment services, as indicated in the regulations.
To have former employees removed from the insurance policy, employers and recruiters must follow the procedures in place to notify the insurance company upon the termination of said employment or recruitment contract for any reason.
IF an employee or recruit fails to transfer his or her sponsorship under a new employer upon the termination of his or her contract, the insurance coverage may be extended until either the policy or the legally permitted period of residence expires, whichever comes first.
The obligation of both the employer and the recruiter towards their employees and recruits begins from the date of their entry into the country or from the date of a worker’s sponsorship transfer under a new employer or recruiter.
The obligation also includes contracting with one of the registered insurance companies to cover all employees and recruits and annually renewing the contract within the prescribed deadlines, providing healthcare services to all workers and recruits during the period prior to granting or transferring residence, and providing the contracted insurance company with all the data necessary to register all beneficiaries.