I have written extensively about health insurance in the past because it is a complicated issue. In this article, I would like to focus on certain sections of society which I believe are in dire need of medical treatment.
It is not enough to keep saying that health is the government's main concern. Inaction does not bring solutions. If we continue to talk about how difficult it is to deal with all of the obstacles involved, then we will never overcome them. We should handle these obstacles one at a time.
We should focus on one obstacle, deal with it and then move on to the next.
Let us focus on medical insurance for the elderly and those with chronic conditions. There are around one million retired male and female government employees. Demographic statistics put the number of citizens over 60 years of age at 1,226,000 in 2010.
Now let's start working on solutions. Firstly, we should provide them with medical insurance cards which will give them access to medical services at a hospital of their choice instead of going to government hospitals where they may face several obstacles before getting medical treatment.
This section of society, the elderly, has a great need for healthcare services and they account for a large percentage of the government's spending on health. Some experts estimate this percentage in the Kingdom to be over 70 percent while in developed nations it is 75 percent.
We should also focus on people with chronic diseases, especially those who suffer from cancer, renal failure and diabetes. Sixteen percent of Saudis suffer from diabetes, 11 percent have high blood pressure and 13 percent have asthma. Focusing on one section of society at a time and solving their insurance issues is the fastest and most effective solution because the Kingdom's medical facilities cannot accommodate all patients. There are 2.2 hospital beds per 1,000 people in the Kingdom, while in Finland the rate is 6.8 hospital beds for 1,000 patients, and in the United States the rate is 3.1.
The government spends $482 on medical services for each citizen annually, which is a fraction of what is spent in developed countries. For example, France spends $4,000 every year on medical services for each citizen while in Finland and the USA, it is $2,840 and $7,285 respectively.
The budgets of the ministries of health and social affairs totaled SR86.5 billion in 2012, up 26 percent from previous budgets. There are major development projects being implemented for the health sector including 195 new medical facilities. This includes the establishment of five medical cities and 97 hospitals as well as 13 laboratories.
