RIYADH — Children of Saudi women married to foreign men will be medically insured, according to the secretary general of the Saudi Council of Cooperative Health Insurance (CCHI). Mohammed Bin Solaiman Al-Hossain said these children have been electronically linked to the CCHI as part of the Kingdom's comprehensive strategy to provide them with integrated health insurance. He recalled that under the directives of the Council of Ministers, the children of Saudi women and foreign fathers are to be treated as full-fledged citizens in the health and education sectors. They will also be counted as Saudis in the Nitaqat program. Children of Saudi mothers and foreign fathers can work in the private sector without transferring their iqamas (residence permits) to their employers. “Under the electronic registration system, we can easily identify any private employer that does not provide mothers and their children with medical insurance,” he said. He said the private sector is committed to providing comprehensive medical insurance for working Saudi women and their children, even if they have foreign fathers. Al-Hossain warned private employers who do not provide medical coverage with sanctions consisting of fines and prevention of future recruitment. He said male children would be covered by medical insurance until they are 25 while the females will have coverage until they are married. Al-Hossain said the insurance document provides up to SR500,000 of coverage for each policy holder to cover the costs of medical examinations, treatment in outpatient clinics, admission to hospitals, medicines, lab tests and other health services including delivery of newborns and dentistry.
