Close to a million expatriates do not have medical insurance, local daily Al-Watan reported on Tuesday quoting sources. It said that only 7.6 million out of 10.4 million expatriates living in the Kingdom have medical insurance cover. Of them, about 1.93 million are house helps, consisting of maids and drivers, who do not have medical insurance as they can be treated in government hospitals by showing their residence permits (iqamas). But more than 870,000 expat workers are not covered by any medical insurance. According to the demographic statistics, non-Saudis constitute about 33 percent of the Kingdom's total population. The sources said that those who do not have medical insurance are violating residency and labor laws. Yasser Al-Maarik, spokesman of the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance (CCHI), said employers are obliged to provide medical insurance to their employees and their families. "No iqamas (residence permits) will be issued or renewed without medical insurance for employees and their dependents," he said. Maarik said that CCHI often gets fake medical insurance documents for issuance or renewal of iqamas. According to a recent report by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), there are 26 medical insurance companies in the Kingdom and seven other companies under the CCHI which manage insurance claims. The report said that as many as 420,800 private companies and establishments provided medical insurance for their workers in 2015. It said the CCHI has accredited 2,569 health establishments — 2,556 private and 13 government ones — to provide treatment to the insured people.
