DAMMAM, 8 January — While the Health Insurance Council is finalizing draft regulations on the mandatory health insurance scheme, insurance companies in the Kingdom are preparing themselves for stiff competition in the new business environment.

The implementation of the scheme is likely to offer big opportunities to companies that employ an aggressive marketing strategy and provide quality service. Once the regulations are announced, the health insurance companies functioning without a license will have to procure them.

According to Health Ministry sources, companies vying for licenses will have to meet minimum requirements set by the insurance council.

An official of the Health Ministry, quoted in the Arabic press, has said that the regulations would be announced before March 26 (Muharram 1). He said in the beginning, the scheme will be applicable only for expatriates for an initial three-year period. All expatriates will be included in the scheme but implementation will be in stages. For instance, a scheme for domestic workers may become operative at a later stage.

According to the draft regulations approved by the Cabinet, the employers will pay nearly 90 percent of the premium, while employees will bear only 10 percent or less.

The business community as well as hospitals and insurance companies are curious about the modalities of the new scheme and hope that it will be a balanced one.

The Arab Development Institute and the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce are organizing a seminar on "Cooperative Health Insurance: Needs and Implementation". The three-day seminar which opens on Jan. 16 is expected to highlight the relationship between hospitals and insurance companies and its impact on patients.

The seminar will also discuss health schemes in other GCC countries. Since there was no licensing of insurance companies and no regulatory body to review disputes between hospitals and insurance companies, the effects of these disputes often fell directly on the patients who were denied proper treatment, health experts said.

They feel that once the regulations come into effect, the entire operation would be regularized and most of the grievances of the patients will be rectified. They also agree that the frequent change of hospitals by insurance companies on their panel is a very disturbing element for the patients, especially for those with chronic illnesses.

At present, insurance companies change their panel frequently for several reasons, foremost among them cut in discounts and disputes on bill clearance. Experts feel that once there is a body to settle such disputes, frequent change of hospitals by companies will be minimal.