Kanchanpur. The government started the health insurance program a decade ago with the objective of providing financial security to the citizens by reducing the risk of unplanned expenses during the health treatment.
Although the objective is to ensure health services for all on the basis of social health insurance in order to provide quality health services to the citizens in an accessible and accessible manner and to improve the consumption of health services, the expansion of health insurance is slow.TAG_OPEN_div_67
The government has provided health insurance worth Rs 1 lakh annually to the senior citizens as a separate unit to pay the insurance premium.TAG_OPEN_div_65 The government has also made it mandatory for all the organized sector to contribute one percent of their income to be associated with the insurance scheme.
However, even after a decade of the implementation of health insurance, only 15 percent of the population in Kanchanpur is enrolled in health insurance.TAG_OPEN_div_63 According to the Health Insurance Board, Kanchanpur, out of a population of 513,757, only 77,135 people from 33,603 families have been enrolled in the health insurance scheme so far.
Lalit Joshi, chief of Health Insurance Board, Kanchanpur, said that only 15 percent of the total population in the district is covered by health insurance.TAG_OPEN_div_61 “The number of insurance subscribers has decreased due to the lack of hospitals providing service in the district. Joshi said, “Gradually, city hospitals are being built here, and if that happens, the number of people joining the insurance will increase.” According to him, there are only four hospitals providing service in Kanchanpur so far and other health facilities except Mahakali Regional Hospital have not provided full service.
Apart from Mahakali Regional Hospital, services are provided from Sripur Primary Health Centre, Beldadi Health Centre and Dodhara Chandani Hospital.TAG_OPEN_div_59 Health insurance coverage has not taken place in the absence of a big hospital in Kanchanpur.
According to him, there is no attraction towards health insurance in Mahendranagar of Kanchanpur district headquarters as there is no hospital other than Mahakali Provincial Hospital.TAG_OPEN_div_57
TAG_OPEN_div_55″At present, only one hospital in Kanchanpur is providing all the services under the insurance, other hospitals and health institutions are not in a position to provide full service. “So far, only 15 per cent of the insurance companies are members and 85 per cent of the population is outside,” said Joshi. ’
Lack of public awareness
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One of the main reasons for the slowdown in the expansion of health insurance is the lack of awareness and trust.TAG_OPEN_div_51 Although the Insurance Board has mobilized registration assistants in all 92 wards of Kanchanpur, it has not materialized. Most of the people living in rural areas do not have enough information about the health insurance program.
Even those with information do not renew their services because they do not get the service effective.TAG_OPEN_div_49 Hari Dutta Bhatta, a local of Bedkot Municipality, said that the insurance policy has not been renewed due to the problem of getting medicines from the health insurance.
}’We got insurance, but when we go to the hospital, we don’t get medicine. “We have to buy medicines from outside, what is the meaning of insurance,” he said, adding that he had to face many difficulties while going to the hospital to get health insurance services.
Rajeshwori Joshi of Bedkot Municipality-7 said that she had insured five members of her family after she came to know about the health insurance scheme while attending a program related to health insurance at the ward office two years ago.TAG_OPEN_div_45 According to him, he got only partial service from the insurance when he went to Mahakali Provincial Hospital for treatment after some time of the insurance.
‘The hospital pharmacy did not even find the medicines prescribed by the doctor, only two ÷three medicines were found, others were bought from outside. “There are problems like long queues to get insurance services, not getting medicines, etc. He said that the hospital administration has been saying that the insurance board has not been able to provide medicines as the insurance board has not paid the amount on time.
Krishnananda Bhatta, immediate past president of Mahakali Regional Hospital, said that the number of people enrolling in the health insurance scheme is low due to lack of awareness and trust.TAG_OPEN_div_41 “It is true that the patients do not get the medicines they are looking for in the insurance, there will be problems if the board does not pay the hospital on time. ’
He said, “He was not attracted to the insurance service due to procedural hassles and time consuming.”TAG_OPEN_div_39 He said that the board has not been able to conduct public awareness programs. According to him, it is difficult to increase the participation rate until the quality of service is improving and people’s trust in the insurance is decreasing due to the problems in service delivery.
Employees at Mahakali Provincial Hospital say that there is no equal treatment between the insured and the uninsured in the hospital, the medicines are limited and the treatment process is complicated.TAG_OPEN_div_37 “The policy is good, but there are problems at the implementation level. He said, “Even the doctors have not been able to treat the insured and the uninsured equally. ’
Although the government has put forward health insurance as a long-term health security system, the policy commitments have not been translated into practice.TAG_OPEN_div_35 Although the local levels of Kanchanpur have prioritized the expansion of health insurance in their policy priority, there is little practical progress.
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