The IFoA has supported Saudi Arabia’s healthcare transformation by facilitating an independent review of new payment and governance frameworks. Volunteers provided feedback on strategy, sector capability gaps, and data governance.
The IFoA is a professional body dedicated to educating, developing, and regulating actuaries with a vision for strong commitment to serving public interest and advancing actuarial science. As part of its vision, it has provided actuaries in Saudi Arabia a platform to share the evolving healthcare transformation and the value actuaries bring to successfully implement this transformation.
As part of its Vision 2030, the healthcare sector in Saudi Arabia is undertaking one of the most ambitious and comprehensive healthcare transformations in the world. It’s moving away from supply-side budgeting to budgets that reflect population risk and efficient cost-of-care delivery, with beneficiaries at the centre of the system. The transformation has resulted in new institutions with new roles and new payment strategies that underpin the shift to a value-based system.
The Center for National Health Insurance (CNHI), the national payer for healthcare services, has proposed a new provider payment strategy. And the National Casemix Center of Excellence (NCCoE), a specialised regulator incubated within CNHI, has developed the actuarial governance framework. This is a framework to embed actuarial capabilities within the entities following the transformation. It aims to enable CNHI to achieve the objectives of the transformation.
CNHI and NCCoE reached out to IFoA to facilitate an independent high level peer review of the provider payment strategy and the actuarial governance framework. This was to ensure that both documents are subject to appropriate review and meet the expected standards for all key considerations, before moving to the implementation stage.
The IFoA provided this support through its expertise within its Health and Care Board to carry out this high-level review.
The volunteers:
Their feedback has been instrumental in refining these critical pieces of work that will become the foundation for implementing new payment mechanisms. It will ensure the transformation aligns with the best international practices while being tailored to the country’s evolving healthcare landscape. Their feedback also reassured us that the Saudi heath sector is on the right track.
This collaboration demonstrates the value that institutes (like the IFoA) bring through their vast reach of international actuarial expertise in shaping such large-scale healthcare reforms.
The IFoA’s involvement illustrates how global expertise and strategic partnerships can significantly contribute to healthcare transformation aimed at improving population health outcomes.
The CNHI and NCCOE’s collaboration with the IFoA exemplifies how strong alliances can drive innovation and sustainability in healthcare, benefiting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its people. The IFoA serves as the platform where actuaries working closely in the health sector can exchange knowledge and insights with their counterparts operating in other markets.
