Community Health Insurance Providers Want Scheme Incorporated In National Scheme

By. Our Reporter

Community health insurance service providers are urging parliament to consider incorporating community health insurance schemes in the new national insurance bill under amendment.

According to Fredrick Makaire the executive director, save for health Uganda who doubles as the member national health insurance task force under the ministry of health says, community health insurance schemes have been tested and proven successful hence the need to have them incorporated in the new national health insurance bill.

Makaire adds that if incorporated, they will provide clear guidance to the new national health insurance scheme.

Meanwhile, Ocheng Godfery, the proprietor, Hallelujah joint maternal clinic in Alebtong district, one of the facility offering community health insurance to over 1500 registered members under the Uganda voucher plus scheme reveals that ever since the operationalization of the scheme, there has been improvement in maternal and child health in the districts with now 211000 mothers delivering from the same facility in the past two years.

The community health insurance scheme introduced way back in 1996 in Rukungiri district has now moved to 32 districts among them Luwero, Masaka, Sheema, Nakaseke among others and serves 40,000 vulnerable people with each member asked to pay a premium of UGX.10,000 minimum.

Still, Ugandans are opposed to the proposals in the new national health insurance bill which automatically allows all public health facilities to health insurance under the national health insurance scheme and private facilities to be subjected to accreditation.

Fredrick Makaire, expressed worries over the poor standards govt health facilities are in which he says will compromise quality of services offered to the people.

Makaire is of the view that the proposal be changed to have all health facilities planning to offer health insurance by subjected to scrutiny.

The national health insurance bill is under parliament for amendments and if passed into law, all Ugandans will be mandated to pay for health insurance.

Currently Ugandans are getting health insurance services from private health facilities and not in public health facilities.

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