Morocco's Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE) has issued a warning over the planned transfer of the National Health Insurance Organization (CNOPS) to the National Social Security Fund (CNSS), describing the reform as both insufficient and potentially destabilizing for the country's health coverage system. The CESE raised concerns that the merger, a key component of Morocco's broader social protection generalization drive, has not been accompanied by adequate structural and financial safeguards.
The CESE highlighted that the CNOPS historically served civil servants and their dependents, a population with specific healthcare needs and contribution patterns. Absorbing this entity into the CNSS without robust transitional mechanisms, the council argued, could undermine the financial equilibrium of the unified system and reduce the quality of coverage for existing beneficiaries.
Morocco has been pursuing an ambitious social protection reform agenda since 2021, aiming to extend health insurance and social benefits to the entire population. The CNOPS-CNSS merger is a central pillar of this effort. However, the CESE's assessment suggests that implementation gaps โ including questions around governance, actuarial balance, and benefit harmonization โ remain unresolved and require urgent attention before the transfer is finalized.
The council called on authorities to conduct a thorough actuarial study, strengthen oversight mechanisms, and ensure that no category of insured persons experiences a deterioration in their rights during or after the transition. The CESE's opinion is advisory in nature, but carries significant weight in shaping public policy debate in Morocco.
