Nepal Health News, Chitwan: Bharatpur Hospital, the main government health institution in Chitwan, is yet to receive over NPR 1 billion under the Health Insurance Program. According to the hospital administration, the delay in payments has started affecting daily operations.
Approximately 70% of the patients visiting the hospital are insured under the federal government's Health Insurance Program.
According to Liladhar Paudel, head of the hospital’s insurance department, the government has yet to pay around NPR 900 million (90 crores) in claims from the fiscal year 2080/81 (2023/24). Additionally, around NPR 100 million (10 crores) in payments for the month of Shrawan (mid-July to mid-August) of the current fiscal year is still pending.
Last year, the hospital submitted insurance claims for over 441,000 patients. However, it only received about NPR 550 million (55 crores) in payments from the government.
Dr. Krishna Prasad Paudel, the hospital's Chief Medical Superintendent, stated that due to the pending insurance payments, the hospital is struggling to pay staff salaries. “We just managed to pay the salary for Shrawan, but we are not in a position to pay for Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September),” he said.
Due to financial constraints, construction work on the hospital’s trauma center has also come to a halt.
The hospital administration has warned that regular services can only continue if the government promptly releases the pending payments under the health insurance program.
