Universal Healthcare Act will impose fees on healthcare, pharma sectors

LEGISLATION WATCH- Universal Healthcare Act will impose fees on healthcare, pharma sectors: It appears that tobacco isn’t the only sector which is paying into the Universal Healthcare Act. The EGP 600 bn healthcare plan mandates a series of fees on the healthcare sector that range from EGP 10,000 to EGP 500,000 for various licenses and administrative filings. Companies looking to open hospitals, clinics and pharmacies must pay a fee which will go into funding the system. Establishing a pharma factory will also require companies to pay into the system, according to Al Mal. The House of Representatives’ Healthcare Committee, which is currently deliberating on the law, is seeking revenues of up to EGP 40 bn from these fees to fund the healthcare system, according to the committee’s deputy chair Ayman Aboul Ela.