Saudi Arabia sets SR100000 as maximum health insurance coverage for foreign tourists

Saudi Arabia has imposed a maximum health insurance coverage of SR100,000 for international visitors visiting the Kingdom. According to the conditions of the insurance policy, which was authorised by the Saudi Council of Health Insurance, international visitors would only be assured access to health care in emergency situations, according to knowledgeable sources at Okaz/Saudi Gazette.

The health insurance policy outlines the services covered and the reimbursable charges, with a maximum coverage limit of SR100,000. The reimbursable expenditures, according to the policy, are the real expenses for needed medical services and treatment, as well as drugs and equipment, with the proviso that they be prescribed by a licenced physician for an ailment sustained by the insured. Emergency expenditures such as hospitalisation, medical examinations, diagnosis, treatment, and drugs are reimbursable. Premature newborns will also be covered as part of the mother's coverage and will be subject to the mother's maximum benefit.

The insurance also covers dental ailments, but only in emergencies, such as fillings, nerve damage therapy, abscess treatment, and drugs. It also covers medical evacuation inside and beyond the Kingdom, pregnancy and delivery cases, traffic accident injuries, emergency dialysis cases, and expenditures for repatriating the deceased visitor's body to his place of origin. Tourists can receive health insurance by accessing the unified Arabic platform for visa issuance and filling out the tourist visa application form.

According to the procedure, health insurance will be valid from the date the tourist visa is issued, and the insurance policy guarantees tourists access to emergency health services from a network of healthcare providers approved by the Council of Health Insurance in all regions of the Kingdom. They are restricted to health insurance firms, companies approved on the list of the unified national platform for issuing visas, and licenced healthcare service providers in terms of health insurance coverage corporations.