KUWAIT: Middle aged Connie from the Philippines went to Salmiya Polyclinic last week, complaining of severe and recurrent stomach pains. Because she had lost her civil ID, she was refused to be seen by a doctor in the government polyclinic.
Instead of her Civil ID, Connie showed her medical card insurance that is issued once a residency is stamped in an expat worker's passport. The valid health insurance card bears the name of the holder, civil identification number, nationality, the job field he is employed in, and the date of the residency issued. On the back of the card a text in Arabic says that the health card must be produced when visiting hospitals and polyclinics and that it does not serve as civil identification.
Technically, however, showing a valid health insurance card can leave a patient in pain for as long as the civil ID is not produced. Connie, a salon employee from the low-earning bracket, could not afford to go for private medical care and instead asked a pharmacist for advice. She was prescribed a medicine that "thank God helped me."
Mohammad had a similar experience. He went to a polyclinic in Kuwait City to have blood work performed, but when he presented his health card, the polyclinic demanded a civil identification, instead. He returned home, picked up his civil identification, and only then was allowed to be examined by a doctor.
What happens to patients in Kuwait if they misplace, lose or still do not have a civil ID? Kuwait Times visited the two polyclinics where Connie and Muhammad asked for medical attention. This reporter posed as a genuine patient and both polyclinics granted him permission to see a doctor without a Civil ID. "I think it depends on the person in-charge at the reception; if she/he is inexperienced, they'll require you to produce a civil ID, but when they know about the need, they'll let you see a doctor," a patient who was in the polyclinic said.
According to a Ministry of Health employee, requests can be granted depending on individual health cases. "The civil identification is more reliable than the health card," said a ministry source who requested anonymity. "So when patients visit a polyclinic or hospitals we always demand to produce civil identification cards issued by the Public Authority for Civil Information. Because if you have the civil identification card it means you are a legal resident of Kuwait; you will not have the civil ID if you haven't paid for health insurance, but you can have the health card even though you are not a legal resident of Kuwait," the ministry source explained.
In Kuwait, to maintain orderly and proper management of patients, the government hospitals and polyclinics follow certain district coding procedures. For instance, if you reside somewhere in Salmiya, you will be allowed to visit Salmiya polyclinics and Mubarak Al-Kabeer will be your district hospital. The system is followed to avoid the frequent transfer of medical records and overcrowding.
Health cardholders are entitled to see a doctor by paying KD1 for a stamp [to a polyclinic] and KD2 for the hospital. If you are referred to a hospital from a polyclinic, then you will only pay the additional KD1 stamp in a hospital anywhere in Kuwait. Holding a valid civil identification means the KD50 required health insurance is paid. You will be entitled to a 50 percent discount on all major medical diagnostic procedures in hospitals throughout Kuwait and some medicine will be free, along with free doctors' services.
© Kuwait Times 2012
