In
2002, after five decades of studies, seminars, and debates, Law 65.00 was
adopted, introducing basic health coverage for all Moroccan categories,
including salaried workers, non-salaried workers, and beneficiaries of medical
assistance (RAMED). However, the government had yet to issue a substantial
number of regulatory texts, hindering the effective and comprehensive
implementation of this law, not only for salaried workers but even more so for
the other two categories. In 2020, the State acknowledged that 22 million
residents lacked compulsory health insurance and committed to generalizing
social protection. Morocco's approach, however, only covers four branches (1. family
allowances, 2. retirement benefits, 3. compulsory health insurance, and 4. unemployment
compensation) of the nine branches described in Convention 102 of the
International Labour Organization (ILO), which established minimum standards
for social security in 1952. Other branches have been added since then.
The
core provisions on compulsory health insurance in Framework Law 09-21 on social
protection by 2025, enacted in 2021, are not new. They build upon pre-existing
laws and regulations organizing health insurance, such as Law 65-00 (2002) on
salaried workers, the 2012 Decree on medical assistance to the destitute, and
Law 98-15 (2017) on self-employed and non-salaried workers. It did not include the fourth category, AMO
Achamil (2023), which covers all individuals not classified under the
other three categories. Strangely, this category remained optional rather than
mandatory. Rather than addressing the shortcomings of the existing system, it
was simply maintained without thorough analysis or necessary corrections,
leading to recurring dysfunctions.
The
only change was the expedited adoption of regulatory decrees establishing
contribution amounts, which triggered numerous protests from self-employed
workers, resulting in a membership rate of no more than 13% of the 11
million target beneficiaries by the end of 2024 and
less than 2% for the 4 million eligible under AMO Achamil. This
outcome underscores the near-total absence of
a participatory approach. Notably, in 2021, both
chambers of Parliament swiftly adopted the law without
any amendments, despite the lack of a comprehensive
strategic study or well-founded scenarios based on
a rigorous methodology and reliable statistical
data provided by an independent body.
Unlike
the approach undertaken by the Development Model Committee, the proposed
scenarios were not presented to the public, the parties, social partners, or
experts involved in their development. The Framework Law itself is a concise
document of merely 19 articles, which can be summarized in a simple table (see
below) outlining the target population, funding, and deadlines: 1. family
allowances (20 billion dirhams), 2. retirement (16 billion dirhams), 3. compulsory
health insurance (14 billion dirhams), and 4. compensation for loss of
employment (1 billion dirhams). It is important to note that Morocco’s minimal
job-loss compensation cannot be compared to unemployment benefits, which
represent a key pillar of social protection worldwide and are designed to
guarantee a compensatory income in the event of job loss, particularly during
crises like the COVID-19 pandemic:
Generalization of Social
Protection: Population, Funding, and Planning |
||||
Benefits |
Population
in Millions |
Legal
Framework |
Date |
Funding
in Billions |
AMO |
TNS + Independent : 11 M |
Law 98-15 |
2021 |
5 |
Assistance
to the Destitute |
Poor + Informal: 11 M |
Law 65-00 |
2022 |
9 |
Retirement |
TNS + Independent: 5
M Achieved: 3 to 5K |
Law 99-15 |
2025 |
16 |
Family
Allowances |
7 M Children or Families |
Law No. 58-23 on the Direct Social
Assistance System |
2023 2024 |
14,5 |
Social Aid |
5,5 |
|||
Job Loss
Compensation |
No announced target.
Achieved: 15 to 20K |
Law 03-14 |
2025 |
1 |
Total |
51 |
It
must be noted that the allocation of these projected amounts did not
reflect the actual weight of each branch, as seen in comparable
systems. Family allowances should not exceed expenditures
on retirement, health insurance, and job-loss compensation. The total
expected funding amounts to 51 billion dirhams annually, or 255
billion dirhams over five years, corresponding to the period of generalization.
This figure is equivalent to the total tax revenues of the
2021 budget. The private sector is expected to contribute 28
billion dirhams annually, a stark contrast to its 4-billion-dirham
contribution to the COVID Fund, while the State will
provide 23 billion dirhams. Notably, the budgets approved by
Parliament in the first four years of the project do not include
these amounts, raising concerns about the feasibility of the proposed funding
model.
In
fact, this is a contributory insurance system. Compulsory Health Insurance
(AMO) under the CNSS is run like a private insurance
company, following the same financial principles and management
rules. The similarities are striking: benefits, guarantees, tariffs,
and reimbursement rates are all fixed. The only variable
element is contributions, which increase annually in line with
payroll growth. In the private sector employee scheme, the CNSS
recorded a surplus exceeding 45 billion dirhams by the end of 2023,
a figure inconsistent with the objectives set by the law
establishing the AMO. This raises a critical question: How can a public
health fund accumulate a surplus that any private insurance company would envy
in its health branch?
Instead of being allocated to improving access to health care for insured persons by reducing the financial burden of high healthcare costs, this surplus is used in areas far removed from social issues. Despite a 2019 decision by the Board of Directors, a sovereign body chaired by the Supervisory Minister, to raise the reimbursement rate from 70% to 80%, aligning it with that for public servants insured by the CNOPS, the Ministry of Finance continues to invoke financial balance concerns to justify blocking any adjustments. The National Reference Tariff has been frozen since 2006. It is widely disregarded by many private healthcare providers, seldom controlled or denounced by the Ministry of Health, health insurance management bodies, or the two regulatory agencies: namely, the National Health Insurance Agency (ANAM) and the Insurance and Social Protection Control Authority (ACAPS). The out-of-pocket expenses for the insured amount to 60% of the actual costs incurred for outpatient care or non-chronic diseases, according to the Economic, Social, and Environmental Council, a constitutional institution. According to ANAM, the out-of-pocket share amounts to 22% for chronic diseases. In countries with genuine Universal Health Coverage (UHC), these high-cost diseases are classified as exempting diseases.
The State's share
of total health expenditure was 25% in 2018. Since
then, no National Health Accounts have been released to provide an
accurate assessment of the State's efforts in this critical
area of social rights, particularly since the initiative’s launch in 2021.
It
is important to note that no regulatory texts have been currently
published in the “Official Bulletin of the Kingdom of Morocco’’ to
establish mandatory hygiene, safety, quality, and
accreditation standards in the health sector, aimed at protecting
patients and healthcare professionals. As a result, judges and
stakeholders lack an official reference for addressing cases of non-compliance
with official regulatory standards. On the other hand, the State does not
take out any medical liability insurance for public hospitals, while
requiring it from the private sector, in violation of the principle of
equality enshrined in the Constitution between legal
entities and natural persons. Most private
doctors lack professional liability insurance with coverage
proportional to the potential damages they may cause in the course of
their practice, leaving their personal assets at risk in the event of
judgments exceeding the insured coverage limits.
In 2025,
after 70 years of independence, the health coverage
rate remains between 50% and 60% of the population (Taoujni,
2024), despite claims by the Head of Government, the Minister
of Health, and the Minister of Budget that coverage had reached 100%.
Out of the 18 million insured, 11 million are destitute or
low-income, unable to afford outpatient care in the private
sector (where available) and unable to endure the reimbursement process.
During the presentation session of its opinion on 20 November 2024, the CESE, having announced a medical coverage rate of 86.5%, Mr Taoujni expressed reservations about the various constituent elements of this rate, based on data provided by other constitutional institutions (see below). Mr Chami, President of the CESE, stated that they came from the management bodies and public authorities.
However, on 21 February 2025, Mr Baitas, government spokesperson, announced that this rate was only 67.1%.
This confirmation three months later raises a fundamental question: how could such a significant gap have existed?
A gap of almost 20 points is not due to a simple statistical error, but to a methodological problem or a lack of transparency that deserves explanations. These figures are not simple technical indicators: they guide political decisions, influence citizens' perceptions and determine the credibility of commitments made in terms of social protection.
However, apart from the rate retained, the CESE report is rich with numerous findings of proven dysfunctions that have not been corrected and also offers relevant recommendations to fix them, however the press has almost only spoken about the rate of 86.5%. Hence the importance of credible statistics.
Mr. Baitas did not provide a study as detailed and argued as that of the CESE. He also did not cite his sources. The vagueness still persists.
This case clearly illustrates the importance of a rigorous analysis and a permanent questioning of the figures put forward in public debates. It is essential that this vigilance be generalized to guarantee the integrity and effectiveness of public policies.
An
analysis of the State budget and public institutions shows that public
investment expenditure continues to rise, reaching 24% of GDP, amounting to 340
billion dirhams.
The Social
Protection Support Fund, a special treasury account, has never
exceeded 10 billion dirhams in annual
expenditure from 2020 to 2023, maintaining the same level as before
the COVID-19 pandemic. This fund supports 100 social programs,
benefiting several million people in a country
where nearly 50% of the population lives in poverty or
precarious conditions, a situation further exacerbated by
climate change, economic instability, and the COVID-19 crisis,
along with their impact on unemployment. In 2023, 9.5
billion dirhams was allocated to AMO TADAMON (formerly RAMED), while 0.5
billion dirhams was designated for 2.4 million people with
disabilities.
Infrastructure
investments take precedence over social spending in Morocco,
with the ninth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) being
the country's top priority. However, State-led projects often
yield low employment returns, as reflected in the ICOR index, which
measures the profitability of public investments. In Morocco, the ICOR
index stands at 9.4 over nearly 20 years, compared to an average of 5.7 in
lower middle-income countries during the same period.
Where is the
"social state" that public authorities so frequently claim to
uphold?
In welfare
states, health and social protection budgets align with
the constitution, typically representing 50% to 60% of total public
spending (compared to only 7% in Morocco in 2023). For
instance, in Spain, this budget is ten times higher than that
allocated to equipment, highlighting the disparity
in budgetary priorities.
Before
drawing conclusions, observers must critically assess all data provided by the
government, which is later disseminated by the media, certain influencers, and
occasionally even academics or foreign experts, many of whom fail to verify the
accuracy of demographic, financial, or medical information.
The issue
of medication pricing is a significant
concern. Medications account for more than a third of
total health expenditure, yet some are priced higher in
Morocco than in more developed countries, a
discrepancy that is often difficult to justify. The
regulatory, pricing and importation policy of chronic disease drugs, as well as
methods of distribution, safety stock management and prescription require
careful consideration. Pricing should be reassessed through a detailed
benchmark analysis. Comparing prices with countries of similar income levels
and adopting best international practices would offer valuable insights. In
many of these countries, some high-priced medications cost two to three times
less than in Morocco. While it is true that such medications are
often provided free of charge in these countries’ public
hospitals, Moroccan policymakers have taken a markedly different approach, favoring the expansion
of an unregulated private sector, to the detriment of a public
healthcare system already facing a severe shortage of
human resources.
The comprehensive pension
reform has been on hold since 1990, despite repeated
recommendations from World Bank reports (2005) and the ILO
(2012) for its implementation. In 2016, a parametric
reform was introduced, but it applied solely to the Moroccan Civil Servants
Pension Fund (CMR). Meanwhile, the average CNSS pension for
private sector employees remains below 2,000 dirhams. Pension
rights are better safeguarded in the public sector,
whereas in the private sector, the average declared
salary is half that of public employees. With
just ten months left before the completion of the five-year
generalization plan, the government has yet to
introduce a single bill or disclose its chosen reform scenarios.
In 2022,
the country also declined in two key indices: the Gini Index, which
measures social inequalities, dropped by seven points, according
to the High Commission for Planning, while the Gender Equality
Index placed Morocco among the ten lowest-ranked countries.
Therefore,
the excessive use of the social state concept
is undoubtedly aimed at local political and media
purposes. The government has prepared the population for
the dismantling of the Compensation Fund and
the liberalization of subsidized gas and food prices. In the short term,
the State's savings from this dismantling will surpass the
costs of direct social assistance. The poorest populations have
begun receiving modest financial aid, yet the middle class will
continue to bear the burden of price fluctuations and rising
social and tax levies. Meanwhile, most regions of the country still
lack access to healthcare and education services that
meet basic quality and safety standards.
Ensuring
fair pricing in essential goods is not just an economic necessity but also a
social imperative. Civil society must push for greater transparency and genuine
competition to drive down costs, whether for medicines, hydrocarbons, or other
key products. Lowering these prices would directly ease household financial
strain and improve overall well-being while also alleviating pressure on health
insurance organizations.
https://panorapost.ma/post.php?id=44008 "Half of Moroccans without AMO". Saâd Taoujni. January 17, 2024.
This article was updated on February 27, 2025.