Healthcare financing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: a review of the options.

Healthcare financing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is overwhelmingly public and services provided in government facilities are free. However, even through the proportion of government outlays allocated to health care has been increasing, the actual amount per capita has been decreasing; a result of the double effects of a fast-growing population and a declining government revenue. Duplication of services and frivolous demands are identified sources of waste. This paper gives a brief description of current sources of financing, reviews the options for the future, argues for measures to raise cost consciousness and assesses the impact of user charges on the low income. Closer integration and co-ordination of the government agencies and introduction of user charges as a first step toward eventual adoption of a national health insurance are the measures recommended to increase efficiency and cost-awareness as well as to raise revenue.