DOHA: The ID card issued to citizens and expatriates might soon have the necessary medical data of the holder.
There is a possibility that with the new ID card being issued the health card might become redundant in the future.
The Supreme Council of Health (SCH) had earlier announced plans to integrate the Qatari ID card and the health card into one.
A law passed yesterday paves the way for the Ministry of Interior to issue new ID cards.
The law doesn’t say if the new ID cards to be issued would also contain medical details of the holder along with personal data.
But Al Sharq had reported last September that the State Cabinet had amended the law regulating the issuance of ID cards and that personal and medical data of the holder are to be included in the new ID cards.
The Emir, H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, issued Decree Number 13 of 2013 amending some provisions of Decree Law Number 5 of 1965 on personal identification cards, Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.
The law authorises the Minister of Interior to decide what details are to be included in the new
ID card.
It is understood that once the new ID cards are issued, the health card might become redundant in the future.
The new ID card with medical data of the holder could be used for the purpose of “identification and verification” required for the mandatory health insurance scheme.
The scheme was launched last July in phases vide a law that makes health insurance compulsory for all — nationals, expatriates and visitors.
Qatari women above 12 years of age have been covered in the first phase, and gradually the remaining segments of the population will be brought under its ambit.
Public health authorities entrusted with implementing the health insurance law said last July the insurance scheme “will use the Qatar ID card for identification and verification”.
The Emiri Decree Number 13, according to QNA, is “operative” (enforced) and is to be published in the official gazette.
The law amends some key provisions of the old legislation, according to which GCC citizens based in Qatar will now have ID cards that will be valid for five years. The old law clubbed GCC citizens living and working here with expatriates.
No changes have been made in the rules regulating the issuance of ID cards for expatriates. They are to be issued the ID cards for the duration of their stay in Qatar. As for Qataris, those below 16 years of age are to be issued ID cards for five years, while the duration of validity in the case of adults is to be 10 years.
The Peninsula
