Article 3 of the Health Insurance Law referred to the objectives of the program, which are: provide a comprehensive and high-quality health system that is flexible and responsive to the needs of beneficiaries, attract investment in health care, establish a financing system that is efficient and sustainable and guarantees freedom of choice in choosing a health care provider, and provide fair health services that are competitive and protect the rights of all parties involved in health insurance.

The program provides comprehensive Insurance for citizens and residents, as well as providing freedom of choice for the citizen to seek treatment in government health centers and hospitals. Each citizen will be registered with a family doctor who is responsible for their therapeutic, preventive and early detection of chronic diseases, and their treatment will be followed in the health center or referred to specialists if necessary, and their condition will be monitored afterwards.

This system ensures continuity of treatment with the family doctor and integration of treatment, as hospitals are in the process of implementing a self-management system that encourages positive competition among hospitals in serving patients and improving the quality of health services to attract citizens.

In addition to the continuity of health services currently provided by the government to citizens, the health insurance program will provide freedom of choice among healthcare providers, as well as an optional package supported by government to enable treatment in the private sector. It will also provide freedom of choice for the family doctor through the "choose your doctor" program, and enhance and create constructive competition among hospitals and healthcare providers to satisfy patients, which will contribute to improving the quality of services. The program will also establish an interlinked information system and a unified electronic medical record for patients, which can be accessed by authorized healthcare providers while considering the confidentiality of patients' health information.

The health insurance will also monitor the services provided on a continuous basis to ensure their quality, incentives will be created for employees providing outstanding services, and the self-management program for government hospitals and primary healthcare centers will facilitate administrative decision-making processes in institutions, leading to better therapeutic services.

The health insurance program will give patients the freedom to choose between public hospitals within the framework of the basic health package, and it will also give them the freedom to choose between public and private hospitals for the optional health package. Each hospital will develop and improve its services in order to provide care to a larger number of patients, and in turn, the patient will choose their place of treatment based on their preference.

The main pillars of the "Sihati" National Healthcare Development Program are as follows: self-management for healthcare providers, which includes empowering hospitals and health centers to make operational decisions by their boards and relevant departments, as well as the health insurance fund which is responsible for financing healthcare. Another key pillar is the financial claims system, and the financial model will be completed and the health information system updated in the future, providing accurate data for service providers and decision-makers, participating in planning and training. The "Sihati" program strategy and electronic system have been developed and will be implemented in the next phase. The private sector (insurance companies) will provide health insurance services to residents according to the system's regulations. Services will be available based on health packages.

The mandatory health insurance package (Basic) for citizens will include all current health services, in addition to other treatments not currently available, including inguinal hernia treatment and obesity surgeries according to conditions. It is worth noting that this basic package is free and will allow citizens to receive treatment in all government hospitals and clinics of their choice without a financial cap for treatment.

The optional health insurance for citizens provides the opportunity for those who want to receive treatment in private hospitals or receive additional services in government hospitals. This optional insurance is government-supported and the citizen is required to pay a portion of the annual subscription and share in the cost of treatment.

In fact, the Health Insurance law determined this percentage within the framework of the optional health insurance for citizens, where the Health Insurance Fund will pay 60% of the subscription value and the citizen will pay 40%, in addition to a fixed percentage paid upon consultation. To clarify, this service is not available at present.

In the basic package, medications are covered and free of charge for citizens, and they won't pay any amount for medication in government hospitals and healthcare centers.

The expected impact of the health insurance law on the private healthcare sector is that it will provide the private sector with an opportunity to treat a large portion of the Bahraini population, including those with the optional health insurance package. As a result, it is expected that the volume of business for the private healthcare sector will increase compared to the current situation.

The Ministry of Health will be responsible for public health, mental health, and health promotion and will act as an organizer for health services, as well as quality, planning, and training divisions will fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry.

The citizen's health insurance system is a new system that requires the creation of new institutions such as the Health Insurance Fund, self-management, and citizen-specific insurance systems, as well as information programs and other requirements. Therefore, it takes longer to prepare the infrastructure for the implementation of the system. It is worth mentioning that the work team has started to achieve these requirements during the previous period and many of them have been completed. As for the insurance of residents, the infrastructure is ready for the first phase of implementation and the required developed contracts have been put in place to ensure the objectives of the insurance law. The implementation will begin gradually in the second half of this year.

The insurance project for residents aims to pave the way for a sustainable insurance plan for residents through a comprehensive and self-funded health insurance system. It aims to build a well-regulated health insurance program that connects all incoming patients with health care providers and service buyers in the private sector through a central innovative data base within effective and high-quality health care services.
The future system will cover all residents through the basic health insurance package for residents, which will provide a stable and comprehensive level of health care and access to health services for all residents.

The basic health package for residents includes some primary care services, inpatient and outpatient services, emergency and hospital care, and chronic diseases, as per the law.

In reality, the central drug stores are one of the subsidiary projects under the umbrella of the "Shifaa" Health Insurance Fund, and it was important to convert the stores into central stores serving public and private hospitals and pharmacies. One of the most important goals of the store is to manage the drug inventory, distribute it, and develop plans to ensure the non-depletion of drugs. The national and Gulf unified procurement mechanism for medicines will also be enhanced and developed.

The importance of the media aspect for the project is well known and the Supreme Council of Health has collaborated with the National Communication Center to develop and launch a national-level communication plan. This plan covers all citizens, residents, and related entities and aims to effectively communicate the details and objectives of the project.