In a legislative session yesterday, the Moroccan House of Representatives approved Bill No. 21.24, which lays down specific provisions on the compulsory basic health insurance scheme (AMO) for persons who are able to pay contributions, but are not engaged in any paid or unpaid activity. The text was adopted by a large majority, with 99 votes in favour and only one against.
During a detailed presentation of the bill, the Moroccan Minister Delegate for Relations with Parliament and Government Spokesman, Mustapha Baitas, stressed that this text “forms part of the implementation of the royal project for the generalisation of social protection”.
He added that this legislation aims to “overcome the obstacles encountered in extending medical coverage to all social categories”.
The Minister stated that the aim of this project is “to guarantee the continuity of services for people who have benefited from the AMO, which is applicable to people who are unable to guarantee the payment of contributions, either because they have not applied to continue to benefit from this scheme or because they no longer meet the required conditions, in particular the threshold set by the scheme”.
One of the main provisions of this law is the “exemption from the three-month qualifying period established by Law No. 60.22 on the AMO
scheme for persons, who are able to pay contributions and who are not engaged in any paid or unpaid activity”.
This exemption applies to those who were beneficiaries of the aforementioned scheme on 30 November.
Baitas also pointed out that “the bill allows administrations, local authorities and public bodies that provide support or public assistance to beneficiaries of the ‘AMO Achamil’ scheme to check, by various means, including electronic means, that they are actually paying their contributions to the CNSS.
The legislative text also provides for the reimbursement of the cost of benefits covered by the AMO for policyholders who, on 30 November 2023, were covered by the compulsory basic health insurance scheme for persons unable to pay their contributions.
The bill also mentions the drafting of a “regulatory text that will define the procedures for verifying the regularity of enrolled persons with regard to the payment of contributions, as provided for in Article 12 of the aforementioned Law No. 60.22”.
This law is part of a series of reforms aimed at providing universal health coverage and strengthening the social protection system in Morocco. The government’s approach has been welcomed by various social and economic actors for its relevance and potential impact on improving the living conditions of citizens, particularly the most vulnerable categories.
The vote in favour of this bill by an overwhelming majority of members of Parliament demonstrates not only a consensus on the importance of universal health coverage, but also a strong political will to implement the necessary reforms to guarantee equitable access to health care for all Moroccan citizens.
MN/te/lb/GIK/APA