Visitors to Qatar will have to pay fees as of today if they need to get medical treatment from the country’s public health system. Citizens and other residents continue to have free access.
The announcement of the new fees and charges was made just one day before coming into effect yesterday, catching many in the industry by surprise.
There was initially concern the new fees were for all residents, but the Ministry of Public Health issued a clarification that only visitors would be affected for phase one of the programme.
The country received about 725,000 tourists for the first half of 2022 according to the latest statistics available.
The new fees will not apply to residents of the country until they are covered by the compulsory health insurance system, according to the stages of its application, with that expected to happen in phase two.
The ministry added: “Healthcare services will continue to be provided to citizens and other exempted groups in government health facilities free of charge in accordance with the laws and decisions in force.“
A document from the Qatar Ministry of Justice seen by Health & Protection gave a list of some of the new fees.
Examples of the charges include ultrasounds with prices ranging from QR747 (£168) to QR 870 (£196).
Other charges include a test for testosterone for QR399 (£90) and a urine pregnancy test for QR 99 (£22).
A test for vitamin D costs QR 456 (£102), a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test for QR 282 (£64) and a smear test for QR 93 (£21).
There are also charges for hospital stays and more complex operations that go into the hundreds of thousands of QRs. A renal and pancreas transplant, for example could have a charge of QR 359,657 (£81,171) or as much as QR 666,603 (£150,445) depending largely on length of hospital stay.
Health insurance for visitors
The health insurance system has been applied to visitors to the country since last February, where the health insurance policy for visitors covers emergencies and accidents.
Other packages of insurance are available through which the visitor can obtain additional insurance coverage.
Visitors to Qatar who hold an international insurance policy can benefit from insurance coverage in the State of Qatar provided that it meets the standards of acceptance set by the Ministry of Public Health, most notably to cover the entire length of stay of the visitor in the country.
“It is noteworthy that the fees and charges for medical treatment services at the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) and Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) have been determined according to the cost of services in the two institutions,” the ministry said.
Founded in 1979, the Hamad Medical Corporation HMC is Qatar’s main government-owned care provider. Hamad manages 12 hospitals – nine specialist hospitals and three community hospitals.
With more than 4,000 clinicians, PHCC is the government owned primary care provider in Qatar.