CAIRO: Ministry of Health will begin applying a health insurance system to farmers by November, Youm7 reported Friday.
The draft law was approved by the Ministry, which will execute the system over two phases.
The first phase will include 15 governorates, while the second one will be applied in the remaining governorates within six months, Health Minister Ahmed Emad el-Din told Youm7.
A total of 350,000 farmers across Egypt will benefit from the draft law, and are scheduled to receive their policies within days.
For its role, the Ministry of Finance will provide 80 million EGP to fund application of the new law. The government will bear 200 EGP for each farmer, who will pay an annual subscription of utmost 120 EGP.
All farmers will receive smart cards, by which they will receive treatment.
In 2014, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi ratified a bill to apply state-fund health insurance system to unregistered farmers and agricultural workers.
According to the State Information Service website, approximately 50 percent of the population is covered by basic government health insurance, 30 percent enrolled in private health insurance plans and 20 percent of Egyptians have no health insurance.
A total of 8 farmers are represented on four lists running in the parliament elections, which are set to begin in Egypt on Oct. 18.