The spokesman of the Ministry of Health (MOH) has stated that the MOH’s current step is not a new decision but comes in implementation of the insurance laws concerning the treatment of accidents victims and providing the necessary health care for them. “The MOH’s procedure was recently putting these laws into effect to help citizens get such therapeutic services at the MOH health facilities and the private health sector in case of injuries resulting from traffic accidents; in such a manner that contributes to offering better health service and broader treatment options, as well as facilitating the ambulatory services of transferring patients to the nearest specialized hospital,” said the spokesman. He added that the accident victims are entitled to medical insurance coverage for physical therapy, rehabilitation, and necessary medical care in case of injuries resulting from traffic accidents. In fact, many citizens never claim any compensation for such damages nor get the insured medical services.
Within the same vein, the MOH’s spokesman highlighted that the Health Minister’s last decision, stipulating that insurance companies are claimed for treatment expenses, comes in implementation of what has been stated in the Standard Insurance Policy related to providing the treatment of accidents victims, whereas the MOH used to incur such expenses in the past years. This decision comes in the first place for citizens’ interest, in terms of benefitting from the necessary therapeutic services at the MOH health facilities and the private health sector in case of injuries resulting from traffic accidents.
Furthermore, the spokesman pointed out that there is no excuse for raising the insurance prices; as all the current third-party insurance subscriptions for citizens cover the treatment of accident injuries, the matter which is included in the Standard Insurance Policy issued by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA). “Article (2) of this policy stipulated that the bodily damage is the death and/ or such bodily injuries that may afflict others, including total disability or partial disability (whether permanent or temporary), and the medical expenses are the costs of treatment, medications and expenses, incurred by third party; due to an accident covered by insurance by virtue of this policy,” the spokesman indicated.
He went on adding: “Pursuant to Article (3) of the said policy, stipulating the commitment of insurance companies in case of the damage covered by virtue of this policy, whether it took place while using or parking the vehicle inside the Kingdom, to compensate the third party... etc., and pursuant to Article (4) of the same policy, which states that in case of accidents necessitate a compensation by virtue of the said policy terms, the maximum limits of the company’s liability, in respect of bodily injuries occurring during the insurance policy effective period, including blood money and the sums estimated for injuries and medical expenses, and in respect of property injuries, shall not exceed SR 10,000,000 (Saudi Riyal ten million) per any one incident.”
Over and above, the spokesman underscored that the MOH would not claim those citizens, who do not have insurance policies with any companies, for any costs in return for the medical services provided to them. However, it is committed to treating all traffic accidents victims, and shall claim the insurance companies only, in coordination with the General Directorate of Traffic (GDT) and according to the accident report. Through putting these Articles of the aforementioned policy into force, the MOH will achieve their desired objective, in terms of providing therapeutic services to accidents victims promptly, and not incurring citizens such high costs of treatment caused by those accidents, meanwhile ensuring the provision of medical care for all damages and injuries, medications and subsequent medical services, as well as developing ambulatory services and reducing pressure on the emergency rooms at public hospitals. Finally, the spokesman reiterates the MOH’s keenness to provide the emergency medical services, primarily in case of traffic accidents, at the MOH hospitals or the private sector.