The strategic and global vision of HM King of Morocco Mohammed VI aims to reduce social disparities and reform the social protection system, said Thursday the president of the Moroccan Network for the Defense of the Right to Health Ali Lotfi.

Reacting to the launch of the social protection generalization project, the ceremony HM the King chaired on Wednesday at the Royal Palace in Fez. Lotfi stressed that it is a “new and multidimensional societal project”. ”Covering health, social and economic aspects since it concerns compulsory health insurance, the medical assistance scheme (RAMED) and compensation for loss of employment.

The shortcomings of the current social protection system have been exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic health crisis, noted Lotfi who is also the secretary general of the Democratic Labor Organization, noting that millions of Moroccans have lost their jobs without being able to receive benefits.

He further highlighted the establishment of a precise timetable for the implementation of this societal project and fixed deadlines for each of the programs, stressing the importance of the governance of public bodies, in particular through the creation of a unified body.

In this sense, from 2022, the 11 million citizens currently benefiting from RAMED, will begin to benefit from AMO, he said, explaining that the goal is not to have “two-tier health”.

Lotfi also welcomed the decision to provide for accompanying measures in the implementation of this societal project, considering that these measures are now essential if we want to benefit from the advantages of these programs.

In this sense, Lotfi highlighted the opening of the practice of medicine to foreign skills and the encouragement of international health establishments to work and invest in Morocco. This move, he said, will greatly contribute to the development of the sector, citing examples of foreign hospitals providing quality care and services in several Arab countries.

“This decision is in line with the local health policy because it will save Moroccans expensive and exhausting trips to seek treatment abroad,” he said.

“Nevertheless, it is not a question of privatizing the health sector but rather of stimulating the public sector which should develop to be at the level of foreign investments and those of private actors”, he concluded.

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His Majesty, King of Morocco, Mohammed VI chaired on Wednesday, April 14^th, at the Royal Palace of Fez, the launching ceremony of the implementation of the project for the generalization of social protection and the signing of the first related conventions.

This Royal project, which will initially benefit farmers, artisans and crafts professionals, traders, professionals and independent service providers subject to the single professional contribution regime (CPU), the self-employed person regime or the regime of accounting, will have to extend, in a second step, to other categories in the perspective of the effective generalization of social protection to all citizens.

After the screening of an institutional film on the various initiatives undertaken by HM the King in the social field, the Minister of the Economy, Finance and the Reform of the Administration, Mohamed Benchaaboun, delivered a speech to the Sovereign in which he stressed that this project is in line with the orientations contained in the last Speech from the Throne, as well as in that addressed by the Sovereign on the occasion of the opening of the legislative year 2020, and relating to the launch of a major reform project for the generalization of social protection for the benefit of large fringes of citizens.

The implementation of this large-scale project constitutes a starting point for the realization of the aspirations of His Majesty the King in favor of all components of Moroccan society, in terms of responding to the challenge of the generalization of social protection, and represents, moreover, a lever for the integration of the informal sector into the national economic fabric, so as to guarantee the protection of the working class and its rights, as well as a decisive turning point on the way to the achievement of balanced development and social and spatial justice under the wise leadership of His Majesty the King.

The minister also assured that as part of the implementation of the High Royal directives, the government was keen to prepare a framework law, the outlines of which were presented to His Majesty the King during the Council of Ministers of 11 February 2021 and which has been approved by Parliament.

“This framework law is the cornerstone and the frame of reference for the implementation of Your Majesty’s enlightened vision in the field of social protection, and the achievement of the noble objectives set by Your Majesty, the most important of which are supporting the purchasing power of Moroccan families and achieving social and spatial justice ”, added Benchaaboun.

It will also make it possible to ensure the optimal implementation of this reform according to the timetable and the axes set in the speeches of the Sovereign, he continued, recalling that it is, firstly, the generalization of the Basic compulsory health insurance during the years 2021 and 2022, and this by broadening the base of beneficiaries of this insurance to include vulnerable categories benefiting from the medical assistance scheme and the category of professionals and self-employed workers and individuals self-employed, who exercise a liberal activity, so that 22 million additional people benefit from this insurance, which covers the costs of treatment, drugs and hospitalization.

Secondly, there is the generalization of family allowances during the years 2023 and 2024, by allowing households, which do not benefit from these allowances, to receive allowances covering risks related to childhood, or lump-sum allowances, noted Benchaaboun, observing that the third point consists of the expansion in the year 2025 of the base of members of pension schemes to include people who are employed and do not benefit from any pension, through the implementation of the pension system specific to the categories of professionals and self-employed workers and self-employed persons exercising a liberal activity, in order to encompass all the categories concerned.

The fourth point mentioned by the Minister relates to the generalization of the indemnity for loss of employment in the year 2025 to cover any person exercising a stable job through the simplification of the conditions to benefit from this indemnity and the extension of the base of the beneficiaries.
Significant amounts allocated for the success of this project
“The management of these programs by 2025 will require allocating a total annual amount of 51 billion dirhams, including 23 billion financed by the general budget of the State”, said the Minister of Economy, Finance and Administration Reform.

On this occasion, His Majesty the King, may God assist him, presided over the signing of three framework agreements relating to the generalization of compulsory basic health insurance for the benefit of the category of professionals and self-employed workers and non- employees exercising a private activity.

The first framework agreement concerns the generalization of basic compulsory health insurance for the benefit of traders, craftsmen, professionals and independent providers subject to the single professional contribution regime, the self-employed person’s regime or the accounting regime which concerns more than 800,000 members.

The second framework agreement concerns the generalization of compulsory basic health insurance for the benefit of craftsmen and craft professionals (around 500,000 members).

The third framework agreement concerns the generalization of compulsory basic health insurance for the benefit of farmers (around 1.6 million members). 22 million additional beneficiaries during 2021 and 2022
The Minister of Economy, Finance and Administrative Reform insisted that the agreements relating to the remaining categories, in particular transport professionals and independent professionals (engineers, doctors, lawyers, etc.) will be signed in the next weeks.

“Thus, 11 million independent citizens and their families will benefit from basic compulsory health insurance in 2021,” said the minister, noting that all measures will also be taken to enable the 11 million poor and fragile citizens currently involved in the RAMED medical assistance system to start benefiting from compulsory basic health insurance from 2022.

Thus, approximately 22 million additional beneficiaries will be able, during the years 2021 and 2022, to be insured against the disease, with the same basket of treatments covered by the National Social Security Fund for workers in the private sector, as well as access services provided by the private and public sectors, he concluded.

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