Private hospitals in Oman are obliged to receive and treat private COVID-19 patients – Omani and expatriate – regardless of their ability to pay the cost of their hospitalisation, according to the country’s Ministry of Health. This means that, at the point of care, no individual – especially from the private sector – should be denied treatment for COVID-19 because they may lack insurance cover or the required funds.
The Omani government’s declaration guaranteeing the reimbursement of costs borne by private hospitals in the treatment of private patients, mandates the private healthcare sector to unreservedly treat any private patient – particularly an expatriate – afflicted with the novel coronavirus.
Private hospitals have an obligation to accept private COVID-19 patients whether or not they are covered by health insurance or their inability to guarantee payment themselves. The government has guaranteed the private hospitals that if they do not receive payment from the employer or the insurer, the government will reimburse them.
The government will employ legal means to recoup any costs from employers of private patients treated at private hospitals. Under Omani Labour Law, companies and sponsors have an obligation, up to a certain limit and subject to certain exclusions, to pay the medical bills of their staff.
Private healthcare services in Oman, having suffered significant curtailment of their activities during the pandemic, have now returned to normality, according to the Ministry of Health.
The ministry has been working with private health establishments to ensure they are suitably compliant with COVID-19 safety guidelines as they restore services.
The large majority of private health establishments including hospitals and dental clinics are now operating normally across Oman. The new guidelines prescribe the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline healthcare workers.
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