Compulsory Health Insurance in Bahrain from 2024

Ian Youngman, author of the brand new iPMI report, International Health Insurance 2023, offers exclusive insight on International Private Medical Insurance in Bahrain.

The mandatory health insurance scheme will be implemented to citizens in 2024. There will be a soft launch in early 2024 and a full launch in late 2024. The Health Insurance Fund (Shifa) will provide citizens with two packages: the mandatory health package and the optional health package. The Ministry of Health plans to start applying the mandatory health insurance to foreigners in the third quarter of 2023. The expatriate health insurance programme will be soft-launched across the kingdom by the end of the third quarter of 2023. By 2024 it will be fully operational.

• Hakeem is a comprehensive insurance programme for expats.
• Bahraini citizens are entitled to receive free treatment without limit at all government medical facilities under Sehati and the compulsory services will include comprehensive primary healthcare, inpatient-outpatient and accidents and emergency services in Bahrain; and conditional in-vitro fertilisation, medicines, all types of medical tests and treatment abroad, if required.
• Insurance companies will provide the compulsory and optional health packages to expat residents, while the Health Insurance Fund will provide compulsory and optional health packages to citizens.
• The national health insurance programme includes the application of a number of health information systems, including a unified electronic medical file for each individual, which will enable the attending physician from any licensed health institution in the government and private sectors to view the medical file to provide the appropriate treatment.
• The systems will integrate the health, financial and administrative information of each patient.

Analysis

• This has been delayed for several years.
• There are 720,000 expats within the 1.5 million population.
• When the mandatory health insurance scheme is implemented, employers will be obligated to insure the foreign worker and his family with licensed insurance companies in Bahrain.
• Offshore insurance is not allowed.
• Only insurers that meet certain criteria will be approved to offer the mandatory health insurance.
• Any company not authorised now will struggle to get authorised in time.
• Bahrain National will benefit by the expat scheme and health services will make money from the state scheme.
• On the finder details, so far there is no opt out for those with an existing IPMI policy.

What Next?

• The two launches will be complete by 2025.
• Health insurers have been locked out of the state system but expect to make money from the compulsory and top up expat covers.
• Once everybody has health insurance the market will have hit the limit.
• Expect some global companies to leave Bahrain.