The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has been mandated to set up a fund to provide financial assistance to visitors facing medical emergencies, per the provisions of Decree No. 25/2024 published in the official gazette on Sunday.
The “Regulatory Bylaws for the Emergency Treatment of Visitors in Urgent Cases” will allow visitors to the country to request for monetary assistance in the case of any urgent medical conditions that require rapid medical intervention.
According to Article (6), visitors will qualify for assistance from the fund under three main conditions. First, if the cost of treating their medical emergency exceeds their health insurance’s maximum coverage. Second, if their health insurance has expired. And last, in the case of an absence of health insurance or related documentation.
Eligible individuals will be able to seek assistance by submitting a request to a designated committee. According to Article (8) they must provide documents of their visit visas, proof of the emergency nature of their medical condition, and evidence of their inability to afford treatment expenses. According to the bylaws, the evidence must be authenticated by the visitor’s embassy within Oman or any relevant government authorities.
It is worth noting that the bylaws do not apply to GCC citizens residing in Oman for a period of less than three months, and members of visiting delegations according to Article (7).
Furthermore, the bylaws also stipulated the formation of a committee at the Authority that will be responsible of reviewing submitted reviews and verifying the medical conditions of applicants.
Additionally, the committee will also be required to engage with a health insurance claims management company to review and verify assistance requests.
According to Article (13) of the Bylaws, the fund will be financed through a levy of 0.5% on the fees collected against the issuance of each health insurance document and travel insurance document. These levies will be collected from the policyholders through the insurance companies. This is in addition to any grants, donations and other contributions or resources deemed acceptable by the committee.
Also accruing to the fund are the returns on any investments made by the fund, subject to the approval of the FSA’s Executive President. According to Article (14), the fund will be invested in bank deposits, any type of fixed income bonds including government and commercial, and any investment instruments which do not exceed 30% of the total fund.
The bylaws will be effective after a period of 90 days from the date of publication of the gazette.
Oman Observer