In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds
May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon the noblest of the Prophets and Messengers,
Our Prophet Muhammad
Dear All,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Peace be upon you and Allah's Mercy and Blessings be upon you,,
It is my pleasure to be with you all at the opening of this Conference, organized by the Ministry of Health under the title (Health Insurance “Options & Prospects”), which was held due to the Ministry’s believe in health insurance institutions active role in the community. The conference will cover basic concepts about healthcare systems and financing experiences globally.
Dear Guests,
Our wise Government led by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, His Crown Prince and the Second Deputy show ultimate concern and support toward the health sector in order to provide high-quality and reachable health care to citizens, where the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques gave directions to establish five international medical cities to serve the Kingdom.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We have to identify the concept, the purposes and the outcomes of insurance, to differentiate between commercial health insurance and cooperative health insurance, and to know that the concept of insurance is not necessarily associated with the privatization of the health sector.
We should take full advantage of the experiences of developed countries that have preceded us in this field, in addition to the challenges and problems they faced due to the commercial health insurance implementation and the privatization of the health sector. This led to rising the cost of health care, overwhelming the institutions and companies working in community development and the citizens as well. Their experiences demonstrate the absence of the comprehensive health coverage, that both of the individual and community are looking forward to.
Dear All,
Health care funding differs from one country to the other, but they are all similar when it comes to its high cost. Countries spend a huge portion of their financial resources due to its importance. Many countries adopted cooperative health insurance as one of health care funding methods and associated it to quality and productivity in order to take advantage from the available resources. The main aim of adopting cooperative health insurance in our beloved country is to improve and develop the health sector according to the principles of our sound religion and culture without burdening the citizens like many countries.
International experiences proved that health insurance has not to do with quality or providing health services. Such experiences also proved that health services development is associated with seeking appropriate systems and programs of practice, quality, productivity, safety and development as well as financing such programs results.
It is our duty to please our citizens. Therefore, we should avoid following poor experiences that will reflect negatively on our various provided health services and increases our citizens suffering, which is in contrary with Allah's directions and our leadership, as well as health services beneficiaries' expectations.
Dear All,
As you know, commercial insurance doesn’t provide many options of healthcare services. Primary studies shown that commercial health insurance increases health services cost which reflects heavily on the country and citizens , as proven in developed countries. The Kingdom's experiment with commercial health insurance is still new and full of challenges. Therefore, we need to take enough time to study and deal with such situation before taking any further action.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Ministry of Health believes in the importance of organizing such conference, based on our leadership commitment and dedication towards such matter through implementing significant systems and programs which leads to a comprehensive and high quality range of healthcare services along with good economic outcomes. Health Insurance Conference is considered the start point for an integrated study which provides important seminars and workshops, with the cooperation of national and international related expertise. The Ministry of Health insures that such provided efforts will not hamper the development of the Ministry's facilities departments across the Kingdom.
In conclusion, I would like to communicate my thanks and gratitude to spokesmen and participants, national and international experts. I hope that such conference will provide purposeful recommendations. I also convey my thanks to the conference participants, i.e. International Bank, Council of Cooperative Health Insurance, Riyadh Exhibitions Company and all who supported and contributed in this significant scientific event.
I ask the Almighty Allah to grant us success to reach the desired objectives of Cooperative Health Conference and to protect the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques ,His Crown Prince and the Second Deputy.
May Allah grant everyone Peace, Mercy and Blessings.