Table 3 Social health insurance structure in Turkey before and after the merger
| Â | Â | Scheme | Population eligibility | Benefit package | Financing | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Turkey | Before | SSK (the Social Insurance Organisation), 1945 | blue collar workers (49.49%) | Pre-paid short-term medical and maternal benefits, employment related accident and occupational disease benefits; long-term benefits for old age, disability and survivor pensions; did not provide or pay for preventive services | Employees (5% of salary), employers (6%), state subsidized (8.5% employer share 5% employee share) | Attached to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security until May 2006, transferred to the Social Security Institution |
Bağ-Kur, 1971 | self-employed people, artisans, and organised groups (23.43%) | All outpatient and inpatient diagnosis and treatment. The insured were required to pay health insurance premiums for at least 8 months and have no record of default of health insurance and long term insurance premiums | 20% premiums collected from beneficiaries. The scheme worked on a reimbursement system | Attached to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security until May 2006, transferred to the Social Security Institution | ||
Emekli Sandigi (the Government Employees Retirement Fund), 1949 | Retired civil servants and their dependents (13%) | Diagnosis and treatment | 20% of the deduction of the Government Employees Retirement Fund (State share as employer), 16% of the deduction of the Government Employees Retirement Fund (participant share) for both health and pension; funded through the contributions of the active civil servants and their employers (general budget revenues) | Attached to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security until May 2006, transferred to the Social Security Institution | ||
the Active Civil Servants Insurance Fund, 1965 | civil servants in work and their dependents | Diagnosis and treatment | Benefits were financed by general tax revenues; no premiums were assessed for active civil servants while they were covered directly through their employers | Attached to the Ministry of Finance through their institutions until 2010, transferred to the Social Security Institution in January 2010 | ||
the Green Card, 1992 | Uninsured poor individuals (15%) | Inpatient and ambulatory care, pharmaceuticals | General budget (100%) | Attached to the Ministry of Finance through the Ministry of Health, will be transferred to the Social Security Institution by the end of 2012 | ||
After merging | General Health Insurance scheme, 2006 | Turkish citizens, refugees, foreigners residing in Turkey for more than 1 year | (1) Primary care, rehabilitation, preventive services; (2) ambulatory and inpatient care; (3) maternal benefits as well as in vitro fertilization treatment; (4) partial general oral and dental care; (5) blood and blood products, bone marrow, vaccination, medicine, medical devices and equipment | 12.5% of a person’s gross income, and employee (5%), and employer (7.5%) salary deductions. The rate for people who are only dependent on General Health Insurance Scheme is 12% of their earnings. The contribution of the state will be 3% of insured earnings as the basis for premiums | Attached to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security through the Social Security Institution |