The Finance Ministry’s actuarial study on the Universal Healthcare Act — which will determine the necessary costs and resources to implement the program — will be completed in March, Deputy Finance Minister Mohamed Maait tells Al Mal. The study should help the government choose the best way to roll out the act in light of rising inflation. The act was expected early in 2017 but had been pushed to the second half of the year due to rising costs. Earlier reports suggested that the plan will be paid for in part through a new tax on cigarettes, alcohol, and automobiles, while employers cover the balance, by paying the equivalent of 3% of each employee’s salary into a healthcare fund and deducting a further 1% of each staff member’s pay cheque.

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