Hospitals closing health insurance programme

Big hospitals in the country are planning to close down the health insurance programme.

The hospitals started closing the health insurance programme, saying Health Insurance Board has not provided the due amount for treatment provided to those with health insurance.

Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu, B&C Medical College in Birtamod, Jhapa and Nobel Medical College, Biratnagar, have said they would no longer run the health insurance programme.

At a news conference organised here on Wednesday, the Executive Director of B&C Hospital, Durga Prasain, said they would not run the health insurance programme at the hospital as the Health Insurance Board has not provided the amount of the treatment of those affiliated to the health insurance scheme.

The government has to provide more than Rs 450 million to B&C Hospital. The Hospital carries out the treatment of around 500 people enrolled in the scheme daily.

Prasain shared, "We time and again demanded the amount of the treatment of those enrolled in the scheme, but to no avail."

He added that they would not run the health insurance programme from July 4 if the hospital does not get the amount, saying the hospital has been facing problems to provide salaries to staff and running medical college due to this.

Similarly, the Executive Director of TU Teaching Hospital, Dr Kinesh Kafle, said the hospital is not going to provide treatment facilities to such people from June 29 as the health Insurance Board has not provided the money for the health insurance programme.

Likewise, Nobel Medical College Management member Bhim Bahadur Chand said that the hospital has not got the money spent in the treatment of those enrolled in the health insurance programme for the past seven months.

The Nobel Medical College is to receive more than Rs 543 million under this scheme.

However, the Executive Director of the Health Insurance Board, Dr Damodar Basaula, said the Board has been providing the amount under the health insurance programme to hospitals as per the act, rules and procedures.

He mentioned, "We are verifying the documents sent by the hospital. We do not hold the money of the hospitals verified as per the rule."

Basal added that around Rs 8.13 billion has been provided to the hospitals under the scheme since the beginning of the current fiscal year.

The Board has made an agreement with 450 hospitals to run the health insurance programme. Around 5.7 million people across the nation are enrolled in the health insurance programme.