December 27: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has announced the government’s plans to expand the scope of health insurance. In his address to the nation upon completion of one year of his government on Tuesday, Prime Minister Dahal admitted that the insurance scheme has not proceeded according to the spirit of the National Health Insurance Act introduced during his previous tenure in 2074. But the current government will improve it to realize the constitutional right of citizens to health with top priority, he said.

For this, PM Dahal said that the government will ensure policy and procedural reforms for the effective implementation of insurance, capacity building of the insurance board, strong monitoring and evaluation mechanism, and to increase the scope of insurance coverage and comprehensive improvement in the structure and quality of services.

The prime minister also expressed his commitment to increase the current ceiling of insurance coverage, while all the free health programs will be included in the health insurance in an integrated manner.    
“With a focus on health insurance, the health system will be developed according to the integrated health infrastructure development standards,” he said. -- RSS