There are 12,052,017 private sector employees in Saudi Arabia covered by medical insurance, according to the latest statistics. Health Insurance Council spokesman Yasser Al-Maarik said that the Council supervises and monitors health insurance services rendered to more than 40% of the Kingdom's inhabitants. Al-Maarik further noted that as many as 27 qualified health insurers and nine claim management companies provide healthcare services via more than 4,543 approved health service providers to all insured individuals. He confirmed that the Council of Health Insurance often receives complaints from individuals, particularly those in the private sector, against their employers for refusing to provide them and their family members with health insurance. He pointed out that the Council observes confidentiality in the complainants' data to protect them from possible pressure. He stated that employers are obliged to provide health insurance to all employees and their family members, including children up to the age of 25. Article 14 of the Cooperative Health Insurance makes it compulsory for employers to pay health insurance premiums for every employee or face penalties up to the value of the annual subscription per employee. He may also be permanently or temporarily barred from recruiting employees. He added that the Council spares no effort in ensuring the rights of all parties in the insurance contractual relationship, especially the employers and the insured policyholders and beneficiaries. It develops the required regulatory, supervisory and control mechanisms, making constant improvements to the health insurance market dynamics. Al-Maarik said that the quality of the health insurance program may be further upgraded by introducing initiatives and projects such as the Saudi Health Insurance Bus (SHIB), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System and digitization of the Council's operations. These upgrades also include regular reviewing and updating of the Health Insurance Law and the Standard Insurance Policy, besides improving health insurance governance and increasing the operational capacity of the health insurance sector.
