Mohamed VI anuncia un ambicioso plan de generalización de la protección social

Morocco has announced that it will expand medical coverage with the aim of including all Moroccan citizens in social protection programmes. This announcement was made during a ceremony attended by the Moroccan King Mohammed V. 

For his part, Morocco's Minister of Economy and Finance, Mohamed Benchaaboun, said that "the project constitutes a real social revolution, as it will have direct and tangible effects on improving the living conditions of citizens, preserving the dignity of all Moroccans and immunising vulnerable groups, especially in the context of the economic fluctuations and health risks that the world has come to know".

In a first phase, the project will include traders, farmers, artisans and independent service providers, provided it includes other groups in its later stages. But it is intended that, during the final phase, the project will eventually include all Moroccan citizens in social protection programmes. The Moroccan finance minister explained that the first phase will involve including around 3 million traders, independent service providers, artisans, craft professionals, farmers and their families in the health system.

Benchaaboun explained that "around 3 million members, traders, independent service providers, artisans, craft professionals and farmers, as well as their families, will benefit from the basic compulsory health insurance, which means a total number of beneficiaries of almost 9 million citizens, representing approximately 83% of the target categories of professionals, self-employed and non-salaried workers in private practice".

The Moroccan Minister of Economy pointed out that in the coming weeks, agreements will be signed for the other categories, namely transport professionals and self-employed professionals. "Thus, 11 million self-employed citizens and their families will benefit from basic compulsory health insurance in 2021," said the minister.

Benchaaboun also pledged to "take all necessary measures to ensure that poor and vulnerable families currently participating in the health care system (RAMED) benefit from compulsory health insurance, starting in 2022". "During 2021 and 2022, around 22 million additional people will benefit from compulsory health insurance, which includes the same basket of treatments covered by the National Social Security Fund for private sector employees," he explained.

Another important announcement is the generalisation of family allowances for the years 2023 and 2024, which will allow households that do not benefit from these allowances to receive compensation covering child-related risks, or lump-sum allowances, Benchaaboun said. In addition, in 2025, the base of pension scheme members will be broadened to include people in employment who do not receive a pension, through the implementation of the specific pension system.

This ambitious project, with a target date of 2025, will require the allocation of a total annual amount of 51 billion dirhams (4.7 billion euros), of which 23 billion dirhams will be financed by the general state budget. In addition, the implementation of this programme requires the amendment of a set of existing legislative and regulatory texts, the drafting of new texts and the implementation of a set of structural reforms concerning the modernisation of the health system, the reform of the compensation system in order to remedy the imbalances in the selection of categories eligible for aid, in parallel with the implementation of the unified social register.

This announcement is part of Morocco's ongoing modernisation process aimed at ensuring the protection of working people and their rights, as well as a more balanced development of the social fabric.