Expats in Qatar to require private health insurance from 2015
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With ongoing political debates about the future of the NHS in the UK, the worldwide trend for expats to require medical healthcare cover continues apace.
With the number of expats on the rise around the world, the costs for covering their healthcare also continues to climb and expats will need to take action.
The latest country to make private medical healthcare for expats compulsory is Qatar, where (despite being one of the richest countries in the world) private companies will be legally obliged to cover the premiums of expat employees by the end of the first quarter in 2015.
As reported in the Telegraph last week, the assistant secretary general for policy affairs at the Supreme Council of Health, Dr Faleh Mohamed Hussein Ali told reporters that “The National Health Insurance Scheme is not designed to cut costs or benefits. On the contrary, its background is the goal to ensure that everyone living in Qatar – both nationals and non-nationals – have the basic minimum health care services available to them.”
Other countries who have recently announced or have already implemented similar schemes include Turkey (which was announced earlier this year) where the European Health Insurance Card is not valid and has no emergency care agreements with the UK either. Dubai and France have also implemented similar schemes, while the USA is famous for it’s requirement for having health insurance, expat or otherwise.
If you are unsure about your health insurance requirements as a British expat, we can arrange for an expert to speak to you to discuss your options. Simply complete your details via the form on the right.