MoHP demands Rs 80m to launch health insurance program
KATHMANDU, June 27:
The Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) has demanded Rs 80 million to launch pilot program on universal health insurance in every selected district of the country, as it prepares to check the viability of providing subsidized healthcare services to the public nationwide.
“A request in this regard has been forwarded to the finance ministry. We are yet to get a response,” a high-ranking official of the health ministry told Republica. The ministry has currently decided to introduce pilot program on universal health insurance in five districts -- Ilam, Sarlahi, Baglung, Banke and Kailali. But the ministry is currently under pressure to increase the number of districts where pilot programs will be rolled out.
“We have not made any decision in this regard so far, but we might if the finance ministry allocates sufficient budget,” the official said.
Most of the Rs 80 million that the health ministry has demanded for implementation of health insurance program in every selected district will be spent on building infrastructure, like IT, and extending subsidy to people living below the poverty line, according to health ministry officials.
“The most important thing here is generating records of people enrolled in the program and linking this database with the central agency,” the official said. “We will also have to closely monitor day to day activities to avoid misuse of the program.”
The government is trying to introduce universal health insurance for the first time in the country to increase people´s access to affordable healthcare services.
Once the insurance program is launched it is expected to reduce the burden posed by often huge healthcare bills, which tends to put a dent on household spending in education, good nutrition and other forms of consumption.
The government is currently mulling over slapping an annual premium of Rs 2,000 on each family to provide free healthcare services throughout the year. Although it had earlier floated the idea of providing healthcare coverage of up to Rs 50,000 per year per family through the premium amount, it is currently revising the figure.
However, it has said people living below the line of poverty would be exempt from the premium charge. And healthcare services that are currently being offered for free will continue to remain free.
To launch these schemes, the government has also proposed formation of an autonomous National Health Insurance Fund, which will be affiliated to the health ministry.
The Fund, which will also work as the Insurance Pool, among others, will mobilize and allocate resources, develop healthcare packages and claim settlement mechanism, rope in service providers in the scheme, monitor implementation of schemes and settle disputes.
Source: Republica
