A recent report issued by Pharos Research said that companies working in the healthcare sector in Egypt would benefit from the new healthcare act that the government is currently working on.
“With proper implementation, we stress that if medical institutions comply with international standards (which the Universal Healthcare Act enforces), we can expect a forward leap in the Egyptian healthcare system.
The report attributed the anticipated leap to different reasons, including enticing subscribers to spend more money to ensure a healthier lifestyle as a result of easier medical access.
“We believe that higher selling prices, as a result of raising the cost of registering new medicines under Article 40, will be diminished by the introduction of the Universal Healthcare Act’s impact on health awareness and accessibility as mentioned earlier,” the report noted.
“The cost of the Universal Healthcare Act for one citizen will range from EGP 1,300-4,000, from a mere figure of EGP 112 in the current insurance system. It is expected to be rolled out in June 2018 in the Port Said governorate and will increasingly cover all Egypt by 2032,” the report added.
According to the report, the Universal Healthcare Act will cost EGP 588bn per annum, of which EGP 10-11bn will be covered by emergency funding provided to the healthcare system from the state’s budget.
“Any fears of government healthcare regulators inaugurating their own pharmacies have been put aside in Article 23, as it would have negatively affected an already congested market of over 70,000 pharmacies,” the report concluded.
