Healthcare in Morocco

Reports said that healthcare in the country is poor and many citizens are suffering from lack of sanitation that leads to serious illnesses. However, considered as a developing nation, the healthcare system of Morocco has improved dramatically over the recent years but is still far from Western standards.

Morocco’s healthcare industry is currently one of the fastest-growing industries in the country. Since 70% of the local population still goes to public hospitals, the government has allocated 5% of the national GDP on improving the status of the state-funded medical facilities and equipment. Morocco also passed regulatory reforms that opened the sector’s doors to private investors. Before, private ownership of medical facilities was exclusive for doctors, but in February 2015, a new legal framework was passed with the aim to liberalise the ownership of the private clinics. Private investors that are not doctors by profession (local or foreign national) are now allowed to own a private hospital or clinic in Morocco. This reform and expansion of ownership in the private healthcare sector are being encouraged to help boost the medical tourism in this country.

Public Healthcare Scheme

The healthcare system of Morocco covers all employees enrolled in the statutory health insurance scheme called Assurance Maladie Obligatoire (AMO), which is divided into two: the public healthcare system and the private healthcare system. Workers who are employed in public companies are providing cover from the public healthcare system “Caisse Nationale des Organismes de Prevoyance Sociale” (CNOPS), while those who are employed in private companies are covered by the private healthcare system “Caisse Nationale de Securite Sociale” (CNSS).

Aside from the employees, AMO also covers employees’ dependents, which includes spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21. Meanwhile, Moroccan citizens who have an income of less than MAD 5, 650 per year are given access to the Medical Assistance Scheme or RAMED, which allows poor Moroccans to get medical care from public medical centres even if they are not paying contributions to the AMO. Employees’ contribution to the AMO ranges from 4-5% of their monthly salary, with a minimum contribution of MAD70 and a maximum of MAD400. The scheme was established in 2005 and required all Moroccan citizens to be members. The scheme was established in 2005 and required all Moroccan citizens to be members. It provides coverage for sickness, maternity, invalidity and retirement.

Visiting a Doctor

The office hours of general practitioners in Morocco are from 9 AM to 1 PM and 4 PM to 7 PM, Mondays to Fridays. They also see patients during Saturday mornings, from 9 AM to 1 PM. The general procedure of seeing a doctor in Morocco is that patients will be asked if they want a morning or an afternoon appointment. It is not uncommon in this country for patients not to have a specific time for an appointment which means that they are accommodated on a first-come-first-served basis. Before, there is a limited number of doctors in Morocco, the majority of which can be found in the big cities such as Casablanca, Rabat, or Marrakesh. But in 2015, the government reported that there had been a growth in the private health market, and there are now 9,661 specialists in Morocco.

Hospitals in Morocco

Morocco has five University Hospitals and six military medical facilities that are scattered in the major cities such as Rabat, Fes, Casablanca and Marrakech. The public sector has 137 hospitals while the private sector operates 360 clinics. Morocco plans on building 30 new hospitals including five more university hospitals in Beni Mallal, Rabat, Agadir, Tangier and Laâyoune. The government also wants to expand mobile hospitals and the emergency units. In March 2015, the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Hospital went fully operational, a public hospital in Casablanca that houses 205 beds, 130 doctors and 740 nursing staff. This state-funded four-storey medical facility that stretches over 65,000 hectares also offers 85 diagnosis and treatment rooms and 46 consultation rooms. Other prominent hospitals in Morocco are: