June 23: Big hospitals in the country are planning to close down the health insurance programme announced by the government.  The hospitals started closing the health insurance programme saying that Health Insurance Board has not provided the due amount for treatment to those with health insurance policy.    
Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu, B&C Medical College in Birtamod, Jhapa and Nobel Medical College, Biratnagar, have said they would no longer run the health insurance programme.    
Organising a news conference organised on Wednesday, Executive Director of B&C Hospital, Durga Prasain, said they would not run the health insurance programme at the hospital as the Health Insurance Board has not provided the due amount for the treatment of those affiliated to the health insurance scheme.    
The government has to provide more than Rs 450 million to B&C Hospital. The hospital carries out the treatment of around 500 people enrolled in the scheme daily.    
"We have time and again demanded the amount of the treatment of those enrolled in the scheme, but to no avail," shared Prasain.    
He added that they would not run the health insurance programme from July 4 if the hospital does not get the due amount. Prasain further said that the hospital has been facing problems to provide salary to the staff and to run medical college due to this reason.    
Similarly, Executive Director of TU Teaching Hospital, Dr Kinesh Kafle, said the hospital is not going to provide health insurance facility from June 29 as the board has not provided the money for the health insurance programme.    
Likewise, Bhim Bahadur Chand of Nobel Medical College said that the hospital has not received the money spent for the treatment of those enrolled in the health insurance programme for the past seven months.    
Nobel Medical College is yet to receive more than Rs 543 million under this scheme.    
However, Executive Director of the Health Insurance Board, Dr Damodar Basaula, said the board has been providing the amount under the health insurance programme to hospitals as per the act, rule and procedures.    
"We are verifying the documents sent by hospitals," he said.    
Basaula claimed that around Rs 8.13 billion has been provided to the hospitals under the scheme since the beginning of the current fiscal year.    
The board has signed agreements with 450 hospitals to run the health insurance programme. Around 5.7 million people across the nation are enrolled in the health insurance programme.   -- RSS