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Government health insurance benefits soar beyond acceptable limits

The Ministry of Finance noted that some government entities continue to offer health and life insurance perks to employees and their families, despite the availability of public health services and the non-physical nature of their work.

The Ministry of Finance stated it has yet to receive a response from the Civil Service Bureau and continues to advocate for halting the renewal or issuance of new health insurance contracts for government entities to protect public funds and curb spending.

Following the Ministry of Finances advice and the Council of Ministers decision to control and rationalize spending, the council has directed eleven government entities to refrain from renewing or offering new health insurance contracts for their employees. They are required to comply with existing legal provisions and submit cases for exceptions, including a legal justification, to the ministry, which will then present its recommendations to the Council of Ministers, the Q8-Press reported.

This came in a circular issued by the Council of Ministers, which specified the entities tasked with canceling the health insurance benefit. These include The Audit Bureau, the General Secretariat of the National Assembly, the Central Bank of Kuwait, the Competition Protection Authority, the Capital Markets Authority, the Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority, the General Organization for Social Insurance, the Kuwait Ports Corporation, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, the Kuwait News Agency, and the Insurance Regulation Unit.

The circular confirmed the Ministry of Finance’s opinion, which stated that “there is duplication in determining this benefit for Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and its subsidiaries, given the presence of Al-Ahmadi Hospital to provide health services to the corporation’s employees, and that granting this benefit to the corporation and its subsidiaries has encouraged other government entities to expand similar benefits for their employees.”

The Ministry of Finance, as stated in the circular, pointed out that after reviewing the estimates of Part I, it observed that some entities with supplemented budgets, as well as government departments and ministries, continue to provide health insurance benefits to their workers, despite the availability of health services through the Ministry of Health.

These expenses have recently increased to an unacceptable level, and some entities have also expanded the scope of insurance to include life insurance for their employees, even though the nature of their work may not be physically demanding. Additionally, the health insurance benefit for employees has been extended to include their families, along with life insurance and treatment coverage.

It added that coordination had been made with the Ministry of Health and the Civil Service Bureau on the matter. The Ministry of Finance was provided with the opinion of the Ministry of Health, which confirmed that it is fully prepared to accommodate the employees of the affected entities who currently have health insurance, should a decision be made to discontinue it. The Ministry of Health will work to provide healthcare services within its various facilities in accordance with relevant regulations.

The Ministry of Finance explained that, to date, it has not received a response from the Civil Service Bureau on the matter. Based on the information provided, and with a focus on safeguarding public funds and rationalizing spending, the Ministry of Finance still supports issuing a decision to stop renewing or offering any new or continuing health insurance contracts for any government entity.

It also pointed out that coordination had been made with the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and the Department of Fatwa and Legislation regarding Health Insurance. On October 6, the Ministry received a letter from the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation referring to Decree-Law No. (6) of1980, which established the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation as a public institution of an economic nature. It has an independent budget prepared using commercial budgeting practices, as well as special administrative and financial rules and regulations adopted by the Supreme Petroleum Council within the framework of its competencies and powers.

The Ministry of Finance indicated that “the response from the Fatwa and Legislation Department has been delayed, and to date, the ministry has not received a response from the Department on the matter.” Based on this, and with the aim of preserving public funds and rationalizing spending, the Ministry of Finance believes that the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and its subsidiaries should amend the conditions and the controls of the insurance services provided to employees. They are encouraged to explore solutions and proposals that would allow them to align with the state’s objectives in this regard.

Additionally, the ministry recommends working with the Ministry of Health to utilize its facilities, alongside Al-Ahmadi Hospital, to provide the required healthcare services.

This is in light of the Ministry of Health’s readiness to accommodate employees from those entities with health insurance, should a decision be made to discontinue it, and to provide healthcare services within its various facilities in accordance with the relevant regulations outlined in the ministry’s letter.



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