Back in October 2021, Qatar announced that it was introducing a mandatory health insurance system for all expatriates and visitors.
Once published in the official gazette, laws in Qatar take six months to be implemented.
Yesterday (Wednesday May 18), the Council of Ministers approved a draft resolution for regulating healthcare services in Qatar (Law No. 22 of 2021), and we’ve rounded up all the new details for you below.
Qatar’s new health insurance laws: For citizens
Citizens will continue to receive free-of-charge healthcare services at government health facilities.
Qatar’s new health insurance laws: For visitors
All visitors coming to Qatar must have insurance which covers basic healthcare services, including emergency and accident treatment.
According to a news release on the Ministry of Public Health website from yesterday, “the implementation of the law will be in stages, so that the first stage for visitors begins according to the established procedures and controls, and the other stages will be announced later”.
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Qatar’s new health insurance laws: For expatriates
Private health insurance is mandatory for non-Qatari workers in both the public and private sectors, and includes manual workers, craftsmen and domestic workers.
Employers and recruiters will need to obtain insurance from companies registered with the Ministry of Public Health, and will need to pay the premium to cover basic health services for their employees.
According to the law’s provisions that were approved by the Qatar Cabinet yesterday, the obligation to provide private health insurance begins from the date of the employee’s entry into the country, or from the date of a worker’s sponsorship transfer.
Insurance companies will need to provide employers with health insurance cards, and offer treatment networks tailored to them.
You can find the full details on the Qatar News Agency website by clicking here, and on the Ministry of Public Health website here.
We will be updating this article once further details are released in the near future.
