Healthcare in Bahrain

Bahrain has a universal health care system, dating back to 1960.[1] Government-provided health care is free to Bahraini citizens and subsidized for non-Bahrainis. Healthcare expenditure accounted for 4.5% of Bahrain's GDP, according to the World Health Organization. Bahraini physicians and nurses form a majority of the country's workforce in the health sector, unlike neighbouring Gulf states.[2]

Health insurance

The Health Insurance Law, No. 23 of 2018 came into force on 1 December 2018. It establishes the National Health Regulatory Authority which will establish a dedicated health insurance fund coordinating with the Supreme Council of Health. The Fund is to be invested and will be run by an elected Board of Directors. Insurance contributions will be collected by healthcare providers. A Health Information and Knowledge Management Centre is to be established, which will collect, analyse and process health-related data using comprehensive electronic medical records for all beneficiaries. All nationals, residents and visitors will be required to pay for mandatory health insurance. Benefits are prescribed by the law. Employers must pay contributions for insurance of their foreign employees and in some cases their dependents. Bahraini nationals can access voluntary health insurance packages through the Fund which will meet 60% of the costs of private sector hospitals or facilities. Foreign visitors are covered for emergency healthcare, although the cost of visas will increase.[3]

Facilities

The first hospital in Bahrain was the American Mission Hospital, which opened in 1893 as a dispensary.[4] The first public hospital, and also tertiary hospital, to open in Bahrain was the Salmaniya Medical Complex, in the Salmaniya district of Manama, in 1957.[5] The Psychiatric Hospital is the only such public hospital in the country. Private hospitals are also present throughout the country, such as the International Hospital of Bahrain.

See also

References
  1. "Health Care Financing and Expenditure" (PDF). WHO. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  2. "Healthcare in the Kingdom of Bahrain" (PDF). Ministry of Health, Bahrain. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  3. "Bahrain issues new health insurance law". Lexology. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  4. "Bahrain Society". American Bahraini Friendship Society. Archived from the original on 6 September 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  5. "SMC admissions" (PDF). Ministry of Health, Bahrain. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 October 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
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