KUWAIT: The Health, Social Affairs and Labor parliamentary committee said it was meeting soon to begin working on some of its priorities. In a press statement, MP Majed Al-Mutairi said the committee will first discuss the "housewife law”, which aims to add married Kuwaiti housewives to the "Afya” health insurance system. The system provides free healthcare at the private sector for Kuwaiti retirees.
The committee had approved amending Article 2 of Law No 114 of 2014 on health insurance to include housewives in December 2022. The amendments will also guarantee benefits to widows aged 55 and older under the social assistance program and those 50 and older getting paid on behalf of their deceased husbands. The National Assembly passed the law in December 2022, but local media later reported that the health ministry referred the law back to the National Assembly in January 2023.
"The law is approved by both the parliament and the government. We will put it forward for discussion on the agenda for July,” said Mutairi. The committee — which is comprised of MP Bader Al-Enezi, MP Saad Al-Khanfour, MP Hani Shams and MP Fahad Al-Azemi, in addition to Mutairi — is also prioritizing improving health services in the southern health zone, he said.
Both Mutairi and Azemi won in the fifth constituency, which is made up of areas located south of the country. The plan is to dedicate Adan hospital to Kuwaitis only, he said, with expatriates getting transferred to the Dhaman hospital in southern Sabahiya. Mutairi added that the committee will discuss establishing a new hospital in Sabah Al-Ahmad.