Morocco Health Coverage: The Poor Give Up Treatment
CESE president Abdelkader Amara warns that high out-of-pocket treatment costs are pushing low-income Moroccans to delay or abandon care, despite the expansion of health coverage in Morocco.
The president of Morocco's Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE), Abdelkader Amara, has warned that the direct cost of treatment borne by insured patients is pushing low-income households to postpone treatment or give it up entirely, despite the expansion of health coverage in Morocco in recent years. He made the remarks at an international conference organized by the Competition Council on 14 October 2026 in Marrakech, themed "Health Policy in Morocco: Competition, Regulation and Governance under Universal Health Coverage." The CESE is a constitutional advisory body that issues opinions on economic, social and environmental matters, and its recommendations are generally taken up by the government and parliament when drafting public policy.
The "closed rights" obstacle to effective access to care
Amara said expanding health coverage had been a key milestone in Morocco's drive to generalize social protection, but stressed that the priority now is to make that coverage effective, through fair and genuine access to quality health services. He pointed to what he called "closed rights": insured people who are theoretically covered but cannot actually benefit from that coverage because of the costs they pay directly out of pocket.
Recommendations to tackle the high cost of care
The CESE president called for continuing to strengthen the health care supply, reinforcing the role of public hospitals, developing integration between the public and private health sectors, and improving the regulation and governance of the health system to ensure the financial sustainability of health insurance funds. His remarks come after the Health Ministry had already cut the prices of 151 medicines by an average of 18.4% in its first round of cuts, a move meant to ease the financial burden on patients.
A sensitive issue for Morocco's social protection drive
The issue carries particular weight because expanding health coverage is one of the flagship social protection projects Morocco has pursued in recent years. The gap between coverage on paper and citizens' actual access to care, Amara said, is a challenge that risks emptying that project of its meaning unless the direct cost of care, which still weighs on low-income households, is addressed.