The relationship between Algeria and France is of a historic and special nature. Like the governments of other Maghreb countries, the Algerian authorities take a close interest in the French system of social welfare. In March 2006, in the wake of previous initiatives on the part of individual members, GIP SPSI conducted a scoping mission in the country with a view to the signing of a cooperation agreement in the area of social protection.

Background to the mission

Since November 2004, several French social security organisations – ADECRI (Agency for the Development and Coordination of International Relations), CNAMTS (National Health Insurance Fund for Salaried Workers), ACOSS (Central Agency for Social Security Funds) and EN3S (National School for Social Security) - have been engaged in talks with Algerian social security institutions, and have mandated GIP SPSI to finalise a cooperation agreement with Algeria in the area of social welfare.

Content of the mission

The GIP scoping mission took place in March 2006 and involved meetings with the heads of the main Algerian social security institutions, namely, the Director for Social Security of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, and the heads of:

• the National Social Insurance Fund (CNAS),
• the National Social Security Fund for Non-Salaried Workers (CASNOS),
• the National Retirement Fund (CNR),
• the National Unemployment Insurance Fund (CNAC).

These highly constructive meetings underlined the similarities between the Algerian and French system and the high expectations of Algeria regarding the cooperation process.

Topics discussed

The Algerian authorities formulated a very wide range of requirements and it was therefore necessary to identify and prioritise potential topics for cooperation.

1 - Three topics were accordingly identified:

This topic covers five areas of interest to the Algerian authorities and social protection institutions:

• the prospective payment system (diagnosis-related payments), one of the options examined by the government in the process of rethinking the relationship between the state and the hospitals sector,
• the system of national agreements with self-employed practitioners. In this area, the Algerian authorities have requested advice on instruments for controlling expenditure and on methods of monitoring the implementation of such agreements,
• drugs, an area in which Algeria, with a system similar to the French one, is interested in exchanges with the Transparency Commission of the French National Health Authority on procedures for assessing drug effectiveness,
• official schedules of medical procedures, a topic closely linked with the aim of developing a system of national agreements with self-employed practitioners,
• the medical insurance smartcard. In this area, Algeria wishes to learn more about the French SESAME-VITALE system.

These different issues could be addressed through an exchange of experts and information.

2 - Collection of contributions :

In this area, three potential sub-topics have been identified:

1. techniques to improve the collection of social security contributions,
2. pre-litigation tools,
3. bad debt management.

To help the Algerian institutions flesh out their requirements in these areas, the parties agreed on the visit of an Algerian delegation to France to meet with ACOSS and one of the local agencies responsible for collecting contributions (URSSAF).

3 - Training

It was agreed that the Algerian authorities would work with EN3S to determine the content of courses to train social security system specialists (practitioner-advisors, actuaries, IT specialists, contributions inspectors, financial executives, etc.).
The Algerian authorities are eager to proceed rapidly with these reforms. The main programmes envisaged (diagnosis-related payments, official schedules of medical procedures, national agreements and smartcards) should reach the pilot or early development stage by 2006 or 2007.