KUWAIT CITY, Nov 9:  The Kuwait Doctors Union has warned against the approval of the proposed establishment of health insurance hospitals for expatriates, asserting this might have a negative impact on the image of Kuwait in the international medical and humanitarian fields, reports Al-Qabas daily.

In a recent press statement, the union explained the stipulations of the bill are not in line with the agreements, which Kuwait had signed with the international human rights organizations.  It argued the proposal will tarnish the reputation of Kuwait because it does not have medical, financial or humanitarian backing.

The union pointed out many people have been suffering due to the deterioration of the health sector and it will only get worse if Kuwait encourages discrimination through the construction of hospitals for expatriates.  It is not proper to push for the establishment of these hospitals under the pretext that the expatriate population in the country has increased remarkably and they have depleted the resources of the Ministry of Health at the expense of the citizens, the union argued.

“We recognize the right of every Kuwaiti to the best medical care as stipulated in the Constitution but the problem requires root-level solutions, instead of attributing it to the rising number of expatriates.  This is not a plausible justification for the negligence of some ministers and lawmakers,” the union added.

The union also called on the concerned officials to carefully study the proposal to prevent huge losses, which might negatively affect the medical sector, citing as an example the Health Ministry’s failure to achieve its objects when it approved the health insurance bill for expatriates in 1999.