Kuwait’s hospitals see 30% fewer foreign patients after fee increase

Kuwait’s public hospitals have seen 30 per cent fewer foreign patients since the country introduced new charges for treatment, according to reports.

The new healthcare fees came into effect on Sunday, introducing prices for many medical treatments previously offered for free to expatriates with health insurance.

A stay in a public ward now costs KD10 ($33.14) per day and a stay in intensive care KD30 ($100) per day, while the cost of medical treatment in a hospital has more than doubled from KD2 to KD5 ($16.57)

Health minister Dr Jamal Al-Habi outlined the decrease on Tuesday, according to Kuwait Times.

Read: Kuwait to introduce higher healthcare fees for foreigners

He said domestic helpers and bedoons with expired IDs would be exempt from the new charges,

Expat children under 12 years of age suffering from cancer or other ‘birth defects’ will also be treated for free, alongside the spouses of Kuwaitis and their children.

MPs in the country previously sought to remove some of the exemptions from the new charges.

Read: Kuwait MPs seek to remove exemptions from expat healthcare fee increase