News
Egypt Shelves State Medical Insurance Bill
| April 22, 2010 by Rob Morris
Healthcare budget deficit forces government to delay medical bill.
No timeframe has been given for when Egypt will introduce its medical insurance bill after recently shelving the proposal due to limited funds.
According to media reports, a projected EGP170 million deficit in the government’s 2010 medical budget 2010 has hit plans to raise EGP17bn (US$3bn) for the first phase of the bill.
It is understood the government will not discuss the medical bill during its latest session.
But plans to raise the cash and reduce the medical deficit budget by levying a 10 per cent tax on cigarette sales have been mooted, according to health minister Haten el-Gabaly.
The measures would generate some EGP70 million each, he added.
Egypt’s finance ministry recently revealed plans to bring in state healthcare and insurance for its 78 million people, many of whom live on less than $1 a day.
