Morocco Tightens Reimbursement Rules for Non-Essential C-Sections

From May 1st, healthcare facilities will be required to submit, together with the billing file, a detailed report on each caesarean section operation.

This new procedure is part of the management of expenditures allocated to caesarean deliveries, which have increased from 13 million dirhams to 130 million dirhams in ten years.

In 2017, the number of caesarean sections performed was 18,522 out of a total of 30,583 deliveries covered by the organization, representing a rate of 61%. This figure exceeds the 35% recorded in 2006, and does not comply with either the minimum recommended by the World Health Organization (15%) or the average of OECD countries (27%), the press release points out.

Furthermore, 90% of deliveries took place in the private sector, where the use of caesarean section approached the 66% mark, while it is 25% in the public sector, the press release adds, reminding that "although the caesarean section can save lives, it often happens that it is performed without being medically necessary, then exposing the mother and child to health problems in the short, medium and long term".