National Health Insurance Company of Qatar Taps Aetna International [Professional Services Close – Up]

Aetna International, a health care solutions company, has been appointed by the National Health Insurance Company of Qatar to support development of its capabilities for disease management and advanced analytic reporting.

"We are honored to be chosen to play a significant role in the creation of a modern, efficient and integrated health insurance system," said Sandip Patel, head of Aetna International, in a release. "Aetna shares Qatar's health care vision for a world-class national health care system built on a strong foundation of prevention and primary care. With decades of experience in the United States and around the world, we look forward to applying our clinical health management and technological capabilities to help the NHIC provide easy access to high-quality health care for all the people in Qatar."

As part of its health care system reform, the Qatari government announced the formation of NHIC - the company that will manage the country's health care insurance system. Qatari insurance company Al Khaleej Takaful has been appointed as the third party administrator for NHIC to handle essential administrative processes and support building its capabilities. Aetna has been named one of two subcontractors. The second is GlobeMed.

Aetna will provide NHIC with clinical case management and disease management. GlobeMed will manage enrollment, claims administration and NHIC's call center capabilities, among other functions.

Qatar's universal health care coverage program will be launched in five stages and is expected to be fully operational for Qatari citizens, expatriates and visitors in 2015. The first stage launches with coverage for Qatari females ages 12 and up, for maternity, obstetrics, gynecology and related health care issues. Coverage for all medical treatments for all Qatari nationals is planned to begin in early 2014.

"Universal health insurance is a key component of the National Health Strategy and a fundamental step towards ensuring a healthy population," said HE Abdullah bin Khalid Al Qahtani, the Minister of Health and Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Health. "The establishment of the National Health Insurance Company and the appointment of the TPA will put in place a major part of the infrastructure needed to achieve this strategic goal in Qatar's National Vision."

Faleh Mohamed Hussain Ali, Assistant Secretary General for Policy Affairs at the SCH, said, "Our goal is to ensure that everyone living in Qatar - both nationals and non-nationals - have access to quality health care services. In addition, the information that we gain through the national health insurance scheme will be used for planning, to ensure that the resources of the government are used efficiently and where they are needed to respond to the health care needs of Qatar."

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