Healthcare in Cambodia: Insurers and Hospitals Want Better Coordination

• An industry forum. EuroCham Cambodia's 2026 Health Innovation Forum took place on October 22, 2026 at the Sun and Moon Riverside in Phnom Penh.
• A central message. The government, hospitals, insurers and technology providers need to coordinate more closely to improve care while keeping costs under control.
• Four topics on the agenda. Hospital accreditation, insurance coverage, access to specialty medicines, and the growing role of AI in healthcare.
• Institutional speakers. Tassilo Brinzer (President of EuroCham Cambodia), Silke Röfer (Ambassador of Germany) and Prof. Sok Chour (Deputy Director General for Health, Ministry of Health) opened the day.
• No regulatory announcement. The discussions explored options, with no new coverage agreement or implementation timeline.

The forum lasted one day. Here is the sequence of topics, followed by what to watch for next.

1. October 22, 2026, opening: Tassilo Brinzer, Silke Röfer and Prof. Sok Chour (Ministry of Health) opened the forum in Phnom Penh.
2. October 22, 2026, accreditation: consultant Edward Chappy introduced the topic, followed by a panel of Ministry of Health representatives, accreditation specialists and hospital managers.
3. October 22, 2026, healthcare financing: economist Holger Thies presented European public-private coverage models (supplementary benefits, co-payments, coordinated reimbursement).
4. October 22, 2026, insurance roundtable: representatives of the NSSF, private insurers and healthcare providers examined how to better align benefits, reimbursement procedures and coverage arrangements.
5. October 22, 2026, medicines: Jan Oesterreich (Komtur Pharmaceuticals) presented regional approaches to specialty treatments. A panel addressed product registration and authorized supply channels.
6. October 22, 2026, digital health: the final session looked at the impact of connected systems and AI on hospital administration, clinical documentation, claims processing and patient coordination.
7. Next steps: no timeline was announced. What happens next will depend on exchanges between the authorities, insurers and hospitals.

The program was organized around four themes. The table summarizes each one and why it matters to a foreign resident.

• Nothing changes overnight. No new agreement or timeline was announced. Your current insurance policy and procedures stay the same.
• Potentially simpler reimbursements. Aligning reimbursement procedures between insurers and providers is an open avenue, which could eventually mean less paperwork for patients.
• Clearer quality of care. National hospital accreditation could become a benchmark for comparing private facilities, including outside the capital.
• Better access to specialty treatments. The discussions on product registration and authorized supply channels aim to make certain medicines more readily available.
• Increasingly digital processes. Claims processing and care coordination could rely more heavily on connected tools.

1. Step 1: reread your health insurance policy: limits, exclusions, deductible, medical evacuation and the list of partner hospitals.
2. Step 2: ask your insurer how direct billing works in Cambodia, and whether it covers facilities in Siem Reap or only those in Phnom Penh.
3. Step 3: keep itemized invoices, medical reports and prescriptions. They speed up reimbursement claims.
4. Step 4: find out a hospital's accreditation status before any scheduled procedure, and ask the facility directly.
5. Step 5: for chronic or specialty treatment, check in advance with your doctor that the medicine is available and what its authorized supply channel is.
6. Step 6: follow official announcements from the Ministry of Health and the NSSF for any rule changes. A forum is not a decision.
7. Step 7: keep a digital copy of your insurance card and medical documents, accessible from your phone.