Badr Tadlaoui
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9:38 p.m. – December 22, 2024
Nabil Benabdallah, secretary general of the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS), strongly criticized the government's management of the generalization of universal health coverage. According to him, this device “mainly benefits the private sector and private clinics to the detriment of public health establishments.”
During his speech on Sunday, December 22, to members of his party, Mr. Benabdallah affirmed that the government has oriented universal health coverage at the service of the private sector, which has led to a significant transfer of public funds to private clinics.
Glaring imbalance
“This strategic choice has revitalized the private sector to the detriment of public hospitals”he said, adding that as many as 365 private clinics are currently under construction. For Mr. Benabdallah, this illustrates “a blatant imbalance where private interests prevail over the needs of citizens in terms of public health services.”
Basing his remarks on the latest annual report of the Court of Auditors, the head of the PPS underlined that 74% of the expenses invoiced within the framework of the compulsory health insurance program (AMO) benefit the private sector.
According to the report, published recently, data from the ministry delegated to the minister of finance responsible for the budget reveal that the total expenditure linked to the AMO, between December 2022 and July 2024, amounts to 11.037 billion dirhams. Excluding the amounts allocated to primary care centers under the Ministry of Health, treatment expenses billed by private providers represent 74% of the total, compared to only 26% for public hospitals.
Mr. Benabdallah warned of the social and economic repercussions of this current orientation, which he describes as “unbalanced and contrary to the principles of equal access to care.” The PPS calls for “a review of government priorities to strengthen the capacities of the public health sector and guarantee a service accessible to all.”
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