Morocco’s Private Healthcare Remains, despite Government Schemes

Wednesday 6 February 2013, Amsterdam

The economic status of Moroccans is improving due to increasing employment rates and income. Consequently, citizens’ spending on healthcare services and health insurance is expected to grow. However, the latest report from healthcare experts GlobalData suggests that managing the demands of elderly and poor citizens will pose a major challenge for healthcare policy makers in the future.

The new report* states that the recent economic recession in Europe had minimal impact on Morocco, whose economic situation is relatively stable. However, poverty remains a critical issue in Morocco despite the decreasing trend shown by the country’s poverty rate. This has spurred the government to introduce the National Initiative for Human Development (Initiative Nationale pour le Développement Humain, INDH), a program aimed at poverty alleviation.

This financial uncertainty directly affects the Moroccan healthcare system, as private sector expenditure is high in the country. The limited availability of medicines in public hospitals pushes many citizens to resort to private healthcare, which they must fund themselves.

In 2011, the Moroccan elderly made up 6.1% of the total population, and is expected to increase to a 7.5% share by 2020. This represents significant demand for the care of degenerative and chronic conditions, which are more commonly suffered in old age.

The Moroccan government regulates the healthcare system under the Ministry of Health (Ministère de la santé, MoH), with insurance coverage schemes working to support financially vulnerable people. For instance, the Mandatory Health Insurance (l’Assurance Maladie Obligatoire, AMO) is the basic healthcare coverage for civil servants and private sector employees in Morocco, while the Medical Assistance Program (Regime d’Assistance Medicale, RAMED) provides for economically disadvantaged people. These vital healthcare reforms were introduced by the MoH to provide access to healthcare services for the people of Turkey, yet private medical care is still a booming trade.

The pharmaceutical market in Morocco was valued at approximately US$0.6 billion in 2006, and is projected to reach US$2.9 billion by 2020, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.1% (US–Morocco Free Trade Agreement, FTA, 2007).