Official sources said parliament will not discuss the new medical insurance bill during its current session, although the draft of the bill has been completed.
The bill has been postponed due to lack of funds, as it needs LE17 billion to finance its first phase alone, which is difficult in light of the state budget deficit and the repercussions of the global financial crisis on the Egyptian economy, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali said on Tuesday he was willing to levy a new tax on cigarettes and allocate the revenues to medical insurance.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
