Saudi Gazette Jeddah — Umrah and Haj pilgrims may also have to pay the premium for mandatory health insurance. The Council of Cooperative Health Insurance (CCHI) is studying the possibility of including pilgrims in the insurance scheme, CCHI Secretary General Muhammad Al-Husain told Saudi Gazette here on Wednesday. The Council of Ministers' decision issued on March 3, 2014, had exempted from mandatory health insurance Haj and Umrah pilgrims, diplomats and visitors to foreign missions and international organizations for the purpose of diplomatic work as well as guests of the State. Al-Husain also said that sponsors will have to provide domestic workers with medical insurance. Visitors to Saudi Arabia will be asked to select a health insurance policy of their choice when applying for the visa at the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and pay online. Asked about the amount of premium to be paid, Al-Husain said that applicants will be offered various choices by the seven licensed insurance companies. CCHI started applying the mandatory medical insurance scheme on visitors from all countries early this year. However, visitors from Egypt, India and Pakistan were left out. They will be included in the insurance scheme by the end of this year. Al-Husain, was speaking at a meeting with health service providers at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday, said that there are 27 insurance companies in the Kingdom and 3,700 Hospitals. Yet the sector still has room to develop. "We need the number of current beds available to be doubled by 2020 to meet the demand,» he said. However, starting from 2018 no new hospitals can be established unless they obtain international certificates.
