Health insurance budget increased to Rs 1.5 billion: Finance minister

KATHMANDU: Finance Minister Dr Swarnim Wagle has said the government has not cut the budget for the health insurance programme and that funding for the scheme has risen this year.

Speaking at the 'Citizen, Policy and Leadership' dialogue hosted by the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RP) at its Banasthali office, Dr Wagle recalled that the previous administration had set aside Rs 1 billion for health insurance and that a further Rs 1.1 billion was added last year when the initial allocation proved insufficient.

He said this year’s allocation has been raised by Rs 500 million, taking the total to Rs 1.5 billion.

Dr Wagle warned that, while the government’s obligations under the scheme are growing, there are questions over whether citizens have received services commensurate with the investment. He said the health insurance scheme continues to operate in government hospitals and that studies are under way to improve its effectiveness.

The minister also outlined measures to assist entrepreneurs who have fallen into financial difficulty after being blacklisted over bounced cheques, and said talks are ongoing with the central bank about providing relief to those trapped in the “vicious cycle” of the blacklist.

Around 170,000 Nepali entrepreneurs and others have been affected by bounced cheques, he said, and efforts have begun to help them out of the situation.

“I have instructed the central bank to work quickly on how relief can be provided to those unknowingly caught in the vicious cycle of the blacklist,” he added.

Dr Wagle said the problem of blacklisting has worsened in recent years and has created circumstances that severely affect entrepreneurs.

By RSS