Government officers were the first group of formal-sector employees to obtain employment-based health insurance, long before the social insurance developments of the early 1990s. Historically, medical cover was granted as part of fringe benefits in compensation for a generally low salary scale. This ideology explains the noncontributory nature of the scheme. The first Royal Decree, promulgated in 1980, provided equal benefits for officers of all ranks, replacing previous rules and regulations whereby higher-rank officials got better benefits