KUWAIT CITY, May 25: The Kuwaiti health service is a red line nobody should dare play with, due to the close connection it has with human lives, reports Al-Seyassah daily quoting MP Hussein Mezyad. He added that efforts to privatize the sector secretly are unacceptable, and stressed the purported assigning of a particular company to collect the KD 400 million health insurance fees annually for provision of healthcare to citizens and expatriates must be strongly opposed. He noted officials from the Ministry of Health have not denied this information which the local media has widely published, while stating an urgent need to clarify the issue to expose the hidden facts on final preparation of the Health Insurance Bill.

“Does this mean the Ministry of Health will transfer the healthcare role to a private company, which is likely to increase insurance fees for the expatriates, given that the company will care about direct value of charges for services rendered,” he enquired. Meanwhile, Assistant Undersecretary for Medical Equipment and Medicine Affairs at the Ministry of Health Dr Omar Al-Sayyed Omar affirmed there has been a remarkable development in the medical services in Kuwait.

Praising the latest organizational decisions taken by the ministry, Omar asserted the citizens have started to trust in the medical services offered in the country again. He also condemned those who have been raising doubts on the medications provided by the ministry. He confirmed the Medications Supervisory Department has been keen on stopping any attempt to manipulate medications. Omar refused to link the role of the ministry and supervisory authorities with the increasing number of reports on the smuggling of medicines into the country. He stressed the ministry has been coordinating with the relevant authorities like the General Customs Administration to stop this unscrupulous act and protect public health.