HCM 213: Healthcare Discussion

Describe how healthcare system financing works in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Give at least two references to support your answer

APA style should be followed with writing and referencing.
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1- Response to zaki Healthcare System Financing In Saudi Arabia The funding for Healthcare services in Saudi Arabia is majorly provided by the government, the private sector, and other government agencies. Despite several agencies and sources of finance to the healthcare system, the government acts as the main financier through the health ministry. The Health Ministry is used as an outlet by the government to deliver the funds to health institutions and implement health policies. The healthcare services are free of charge in public hospitals for the citizens, an aspect that is likely to last for a short period due to fluctuating oil prices (AlHanawi et al., 2018). Even though the government finances the healthcare system, it faces different challenges related to public funds systems.

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Some of the challenges may include rising costs and varying disease patterns. These challenges slow the Arabian vision of quality healthcare for both locals and non-residents. After consultation with relevant stakeholders, the government has opted for a privatization approach. In this approach, the government hands over some responsibilities such as management of the health services and financing to either profit or non-profit organizations. These private sectors are expected to have higher quality health care, benefiting the public.

The government has established a Compulsory Employment-Based Health Insurance which solely covers workers in the private sector payable by the employees. Insurance cover is a must for non-resident employees in Arabia and their families (AlNemer, 2018). The insurance cover approach is a scheme that every household hopes to join soon. Despite the strategy favoring the non-residents, they have raised concerns about low-quality healthcare services since the employers are hesitant to pay for favorable insurance covers. The insurance cover approach will reduce the government’s burden to finance the health sector because some revenue from oil products will cater to other sectors such as infrastructure. The public, however, has mixed reactions to this strategy as the hospital charges might be very high as a result of the government’s withdrawal. References. Al-Hanawi, M. K., Alsharqi, O., Almazrou, S., & Vaidya, K. (2018). Healthcare finance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: a qualitative study of householders’ attitudes. Applied health economics and health policy, 16(1), 55-64. AlNemer, H. A. (2018).

Perception of the Benefits and Features of Health Insurance Policies Offered by the Employers: Empirical Findings from Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Business and Management, 13(6), 214-214. 2-response to Hussain alkhamees Saudi had to face enormous problems in the health sector due to population growth, changing lifestyle, shifting disease patterns, high expectations, escalating health care costs, limited infrastructure and resources, and poor management practices in the provision of health care. Moreover, the government emphasized the need to attract private sector investment to improve quality and efficiency, develop the workforce, and standardize services. Since the current pattern of healthcare is unsustainable, the country plans to restructure the current healthcare system towards institutionalizing it to meet future challenges.

Governments should put an appropriate amount of effort into building their own health care systems by transforming and modifying the challenges faced by society and its political and economic systems. The government must encourage equality and equity in the provision of health care. Saudi Arabia was the first GCC country to introduce mandatory health insurance to the private sector with a focus on expatriates. The first step of health care reform came through the implementation of the Cooperative Health Insurance Act 2004. The transition from the national health care system to the national health insurance system is planned in three phases.

The first phase has come into effect and employerbased health insurance is now mandatory in the Kingdom. Required of all expats in the Kingdom have health insurance coverage in order to issue or renew legal residence documents (residency). Policy makers are still learning lessons from the first stage and study the best way forward. References: 1- Rahman, R., & Salam, M. A. (2021). Policy discourses: Shifting the burden of healthcare from the state to the market in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 58, 004695802110176. https://doi.org/10.1177/00469580211017655 2- Wan Puteh, D. S., Aizuddin, D. A., & Al Salem, A. A. (2020). Renewal of healthcare funding systems by National Health Insurance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (NHI). Haya: The Saudi Journal of Life Sciences, 5(11), 236– 245. https://doi.org/10.36348/sjls.2020.v05i11.00