Gandaki Province Sees 67% Household Enrollment in Health Insurance Program

Gandaki. To date, 444,776 families in Gandaki Province have enrolled in the health insurance program, accounting for 67.01 percent of the total households in the province. According to the latest data from the provincial office of the Health Insurance Board, 1,356,698 individuals in Gandaki are covered by health insurance.

Provincial Coordinator Jivalal Kharel stated that the total number of insured individuals has reached 55 percent of the population. Of the total insured, 738,232 people, or 54.04 percent, have utilized the services. The number of families renewing their insurance stands at 335,505, with a renewal rate of 75 percent.

Coordinator Kharel noted that 725 registration assistants are active across the province for health insurance. He stated that 567,668,100 rupees were collected from insurance contributions in the fiscal year 2081/82.

The program includes 161,935 senior citizens, 2,311 families of HIV-infected individuals, 5,630 families of persons with severe disabilities, 90 families of leprosy patients, 57 families of tuberculosis patients, and 4,642 families of female community health volunteers.

There are service providers and hospitals listed for health insurance in 47 local levels of the province. A total of 61 service providers are listed, including 56 government, four private, and one community institution. Coordinator Kharel mentioned that 7,061 individuals were insured in the fiscal year 2081/82 with grant support from the Gandaki Province Ministry of Health.

This includes 5,946 families of persons with disabilities, 431 families of kidney patients, 382 conflict victims, 28 injured individuals from the People's Movement, 63 families of martyrs and missing persons, and 211 journalists active in Kaski.

Under the government's social security program, health insurance was first launched in Gandaki from Baglung in Ashar 2073. Currently, the health insurance program is implemented in all 11 districts of the province. The Health Insurance Board has designated 61 hospitals within the province to provide health services to the insured.