DOHA: Nearly 5,000 Qatari women have been treated under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) since its launch and the first mother benefiting from it gave birth on July 17 at the Women’s Hospital.
As of August 27, 4,760 women availed the National Health Insurance Scheme, which in phase 1 covers maternity, obstetrics, gynaecology and related healthcare services.
They included 1,047 inpatients and 3,713 outpatients at participating hospitals and clinics, while the call centre received over 800 enquiries during its first six weeks of operations.
Introduced by the Supreme Council of Health as part of its National Health Strategy, the National Health Insurance Scheme aims to provide world class healthcare to all Qatari nationals and expatriates.
Phase 1 of the National Health Insurance programme covers female Qatari nationals aged 12 and above. “To be honest, I was a bit worried because I didn’t know how the insurance scheme would work and what I needed to do to get coverage,” said Elham Hussein. She was one of the first women to receive services under the National Health Insurance Scheme.
“Luckily, when I went to Al Ahli Hospital, everything went very smoothly and I was admitted right away without any difficulties.
“The National Health Insurance Scheme really makes things much easier because you know that you are covered and you know that you can go to hospital and be treated right away,” she added.
HMC Women’s Hospital, Al Emadi Hospital, Al Ahli Hospital and Doha Clinic Hospital are part of the National Health Insurance Scheme, with Al Wakra Hospital, Al Khor Hospital and the Cuban Hospital scheduled to be added to the provider network in September.
With all Qatari females aged 12 and above automatically enrolled in the scheme, a Qatari ID issued by the Ministry of Interior is all that is needed to access National Health Insurance Scheme healthcare services at the participating hospitals of one’s choice.
“We are very pleased with the smooth introduction of the National Health Insurance Scheme,” explained Dr Faleh Mohamed Hussain Ali, acting CEO of the National Health Insurance Company (NHIC) which manages the National Health Insurance Scheme.
“Thousands of patients have been treated in the first one-and-a-half month since the scheme’s launch in what is a strong testament to seamless integration between the participating hospitals and the NHIC to implement the National Health Insurance Scheme.”
The scheme will be rolled out in five phases over the next two years. The next phase will expand the coverage to include all Qatari nationals, regardless of age or gender. The second stage will also see an expansion of healthcare services to include all medical disciplines. Expats and visitors will be added to the National Health Insurance Scheme in the subsequent stages.
“The smooth launch of the scheme reflects a lot of the work that went into preparing the healthcare sector for the launch of the scheme,” said the Project Manager for the National Health Insurance Scheme at the Supreme Council of Health, Husein Reka.
“As more providers are added over the coming weeks, the scheme will reach out to more Qatari women covered in the first stage.” The Peninsula
