Nepal: Mandatory health insurance to cover 500,000 more people in first year
Source: Asia Insurance Review | Oct 2017
Nepal Life & Health Regulation
Health insurance coverage could surge significantly in Nepal if a proposed health insurance law is endorsed by the Parliament. This is because the Bill provides for mandatory insurance coverage for immediate family members of those employed in formal sector, civil servants and migrant workers.
If the proposed law is implemented effectively, officials estimate 500,000 more Nepalis would get insurance coverage in the very first year that the programme is rolled out, reported The Himalayan Times.
Former health minister Gagan Thapa, who had tabled the Bill in Parliament earlier this year, said that the government could even offer insurance policies at subsidised rates to disadvantaged groups and workers in the informal sector.
The government at present offers public health insurance in 15 districts, with around 233,000 families subscribing to the scheme. The policy covers a family of five with an annual premium of NPR2,500 (US$24.40), with medical coverage worth NPR 50,000. A