Government preparing to include all employees in health insurance
Nepal Health News, Kathmandu:The Government of Nepal is preparing to make health insurance mandatory for civil servants and employees working in organized sectors. The Ministry of Health and Population has already begun the necessary internal procedures to implement this plan.
To effectively enforce the provisions of the Health Insurance Act, 2074 (2017), the Ministry, under the leadership of Health Minister Pradeep Paudel, has initiated coordination with all government agencies. Coordination efforts will also extend to provincial and local level offices to implement the insurance program nationwide.
According to the ministry’s plan, including government employees and workers from organized sectors in the insurance system is expected to generate sufficient premium contributions to the Health Insurance Fund, contributing to the program’s long-term sustainability.
As per the report of the Health Insurance Reform Recommendation Task Force, if the organized sector participates in the program, it could generate up to NPR 60 billion annually in revenue. Currently, the required funding stands at around NPR 24 billion.
Minister Paudel stated that the general public currently bears around 55% of health service costs out-of-pocket. With the inclusion of the organized sector in health insurance, this burden is expected to decrease to as low as 8%.
Dr. Raghuraj Kafle, Executive Director of the Health Insurance Board, mentioned that implementing the existing but unenforced provisions in the Insurance Act would significantly enhance the program's effectiveness. He highlighted that the current strain on government resources, caused by higher usage of insurance by high-risk groups, could be reduced by enrolling civil servants, thereby making the system more efficient.
In previous years, about NPR 7 billion was allocated annually for health insurance. However, due to consistent efforts by Health Minister Paudel and discussions with Finance and Deputy Prime Minister Bishnu Paudel as well as Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, this year’s budget allocation has been increased to NPR 10 billion. Additionally, the government has committed to covering outstanding dues from previous years in the upcoming fiscal year.
