A ‘fresh start’ in a health insurance scheme: Health Minister

Kathmandu: Minister for Health and Food Safety Nisha Mehta has said that the government is to make a fresh start in the health insurance scheme with new modalities from the upcoming fiscal year.

In a discussion on Nepal Health Insurance Reforms organised on Tuesday by the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, she emphasised that the pending payments of health insurance should be cleared by any means within the month of Ashar.

“Hospitals are warning of closing services if payments are not made.” Minister Mehta also called on stakeholders to move from profit-oriented to service-oriented and citizen-centred service delivery. She said that the tax levied on tobacco and alcoholic beverages should come directly under the Ministry of Health.

Likewise, Prime Minister’s Health Advisor Prof Dr Jagdish Prasad Agrawal said that the old practice of depositing the money collected from the health tax in the general treasury of the state should be changed.

He stressed the need to equip the district hospitals with health equipment and make them accountable within the provincial structure, and to implement a strict ‘referral system’ such as not being able to claim insurance when coming to the centre for treatment that is available in the district.

Health Secretary Dr Bikash Devkota expressed the view that the contribution of the provinces should be included in the health insurance scheme.

Executive Director of the Health Insurance Board, Shakuntala Prajapati, emphasised the need to implement EMR, AI and biometrics while discussing the Third Party Administrator (TPA) model.

RSS