The Council of Cooperative Health Insurance (CCHI) has revealed details of a compulsory health insurance policy for tourists to the Kingdom.
The insurance policy is to be purchased in conjunction with the application of tourist visas to Saudi Arabia that can be obtained online or on arrival. There is as yet no implementation date.
The maximum cover under the plan is SAR100,000 (US$26,666) for a tourist. The insurance policy covers expenses involved in medical tests, treatment in emergency cases, hospitalisation, childbirth, treatment for premature babies, traffic accident injury, dialysis in emergency cases, medical evacuation within and outside the kingdom, and daily costs for accommodation and food of patients as well as for nursing services, doctor’s visits and medical supervision.
The health insurance also covers the cost of emergency dental treatment, including filling, nerve treatment and removing abscesses; antibiotics and painkillers up to a maximum of SAR500; expenses of pregnancy and emergency delivery up to SAR5,000; repatriation of dead bodies to the home country with a maximum cover of SAR10,000 and the cost of travel for a relative accompanying the deceased with a maximum of SAR5,000.
Under the Saudi national tourism strategy, the kingdom aims to attract more than 100 million visitors in 2030, up from 41 million at present; the vast majority now are Muslim pilgrims. While health tourism is targeted, medical tourism is not.
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