Health Insurance Board makes coverage mandatory for foreign nationals

KATHMANDU: The Health Insurance Board has announced a new policy to make it mandatory for foreign nationals coming to Nepal to enroll in health insurance, aiming to reduce financial risks.

This announcement was made during a press conference held at the Board’s office on Sunday.

Speaking at the conference, Dr. Raghuraj Kafle, Executive Director of the Board, stated that the arrangement would apply to all levels of elected representatives, employees, migrant workers, the general public, and foreign nationals visiting Nepal.

He expressed confidence that this move would contribute to achieving the government’s goal of “Universal Health Coverage” and would help reduce the financial risks faced by the Health Insurance Board.

Dr. Kafle explained that various scattered health assistance and grant programs would also be integrated under the Board’s purview.

Programs providing treatment assistance and health services by local governments would be brought under the Board, he added.

He said, “This arrangement will apply to all elected representatives, employees in various government bodies, people working in organizational institutions, migrants and their families, the general public, and foreign nationals visiting Nepal. This will help fulfill the government’s goal of Universal Health Coverage. We believe this is a key step in reducing the financial risk faced by the Health Insurance Board. Additionally, we will integrate the scattered health assistance and grant programs, which are currently being run by the Ministry of Health and Population and other government bodies. Programs at the provincial and local levels, which are providing support for accessible treatment, will also be brought under the Board.”

Dr. Kafle also mentioned that discussions have already been initiated between the Health Insurance Board and the Ministry of Health and Population to integrate health assistance services across all levels.

The Health Insurance Board has reported that it has established its primary service point in 356 local levels across the country.

In the press conference, Dr. Kafle stated that the Board’s own primary service points are available in 47.7% of local levels. However, 397 local levels, which account for 52.7%, still lack these service points. People in these areas have to visit nearby local levels to avail of insurance services.

He highlighted that compared to rural areas, urban and accessible local levels have more service points for health insurance.

Furthermore, he shared that the number of insured individuals failing to renew their insurance each year has been increasing.

According to him, in the fiscal year 2074/75, 54% of policyholders did not renew their insurance, this figure increased to 64% in 2078/79, and so far, in the current fiscal year 2081/82, it is still at 54%.

Dr. Kafle emphasized the need for analysis to understand why insured individuals fail to renew their insurance and to find solutions to this issue.

He said, “Currently, 356 local levels have the primary service point, which accounts for 47.2% of local levels.

However, 397 local levels (52.7%) still do not have a primary service point. People in these areas must go to nearby local levels to access the service. This has raised questions regarding enrollment in health insurance in these localities. When we analyze the situation, we find that accessible local levels have service points, but remote areas still lack them. Regarding the issue of insurance renewal, the percentage of people not renewing their insurance has been high. In fiscal year 2074/75, 54% did not renew, and this number increased to 64% in 2078/79. As of the current fiscal year, it remains at 54%. It is becoming more complicated to understand why insured individuals do not renew. It is essential to identify the reasons for the high dropout rate and focus on finding solutions.”

Dr. Kafle also mentioned that the duplication of information makes it challenging to obtain accurate data on insured individuals. However, he shared that there has been an increase in the number of insured individuals availing health treatment services.

The Board’s statistics show that people from urban and accessible areas are more likely to utilize health treatment services compared to those from targeted groups.