Health is wealth and an essential requirement of a human life. It is prominently placed in the human welfare index of the world. This is one of the criteria to gauge the level of development of a country or a region. Ensuring health for all is the essential part of social justice system also enshrined in the Islamic teachings. This is the reason why every country or the government gives it due importance. Some of them provide health services free of cost or at a nominal price. In the Gulf region, these facilities are equally available for the citizens and the expatriates. It does not matter whether they work in the public sector or the private sector. For the purpose, there is health insurance facility made available to all.
Through insurance facility, the health services are being provided as other essential services such as water and clean air. Everybody has the right to access them without any other consideration. The health insurance sector of the Sultanate of Oman grew 30 per cent in 2017 compared with 2016.
The health insurance premiums grew 16 per cent to reach to RO 134 million during this period. It continued to grow with a rate of 30 per cent in 2019. In 2021, the growth was 32 per cent. This shows that there is awareness in society about the importance of insurance to avail all sorts of health services. These insurance services have also made the expatriates working in the private sector safe and secure.
They feel more confident while working for their employer company. This also boosts their loyalty to their employer. It is not only essential for the health of the people of the entire country, but is also beneficial for both the employers and expatriate workers. The insurance cover also makes the private sector more attractive. If any employee has sudden health issue, it is not a financial burden for the employer company because the bill is paid by the insurance.
It is important to protect the employers from financial shock of the bill of healthcare. Therefore, it is expected that the rules and regulations of the health insurance would be practised without any hesitation. The authorities would also ensure private sector organisations, companies and institutions do not ignore these laws.
If they would realise the financial feasibility of the health insurance, they would willingly opt for this cover which is useful for both the individuals and companies. To make the health insurance facility a success, it is also important to watch if all the requirements are fulfilled, the timeframe of payments are never ignored and the benefits reach all segments of society. If such essential services do not reach everybody, it would not have that level of advantage for society. The insurance cover is part of health service.
Health is a thing which cannot be assured for one segment and ignored for another. While formulating health insurance policies and making rules and regulations, this aspect should not be ignored. It is expected particularly when in all its policies and initiatives government has kept in mind that their benefits reaches each and everybody in the country in all segments. This cannot be ignored particularly when giving them health insurance facility.
An advanced level of health services cannot be provided without a health insurance system which covers most of the people of society. Public services in any country cannot fulfil all the requirements because of the pressure they have. This is why various types of private services are also developed to support the ultimate objective. This is why it is required that the decisions and policies related to health insurance are continued to be revised, and made more beneficial. The authorities concerned are expected to make this cover updated to match with the best practices of the time in the world. The process needs innovative and out of the box thinking and the Sultanate of Oman has plenty of this quality.
