The Bangladesh government has adopted a pilot project, providing public-funded health insurance to nearly 65,000 families, which officials described as the first step towards universal medical coverage for its citizens.
The insurance covers treatment of 50 kinds of medical problems and the government says if the five-year trial runs successfully, it plans to spread it out across the country.
Ultra-poor families in Tangail district, some 98 km north-west of capital Dhaka, are now covered under the project, says the chief of Directorate of Health.
“The health insurance project now covers three Upazilas (sub-districts) in Tangail. It will start in other places, if the pilot turns out to be successful. We hope the programme will be able to ensure proper medical care for all citizens,” Director General Abul Kalam Azad told Bangla Tribune.
The pilot kicked-off three years ago, when 30,000 families in Kalihati Upazila received the ‘Sheikh Hasina Health Card’, named after the prime minister.
“Six months ago, we started it in Madhupur and Ghatail Upazila. Ultra-poor citizens have received a medical insurance of Tk 50,000, which has been totally funded by the state,” Tangail’s Civil Surgeon Sharif Hossain Khan told Bangla Tribune.
According to him, the insurance covers treatment of 50 kinds of medical conditions, including any surgery needed.
“If the local Upazila Health Complex does not have a specific facility, like diagnostic tests, those are forwarded to the state-run hospitals in the districts,” said Khan.
The project now covers 30,000 ultra-poor families in Kalihati Upazila, 18,000 families in Ghatail and 16,000 in Madhupur, said the official.
In an effort to address the issue of insufficient stock of medicines at the state-run facilities, Khan said they have designated a pharmacy in the Upazilas, so the patients can collect medications, which are covered under the insurance.
“This is a five-year term pilot project. The plan is to implement it across the country, if this turns out to be successful.”
The concept of health insurance is relatively new in Bangladesh, unlike the developed nations.
“A state-funded universal health coverage requires a minimum per capita income, which is estimated to be US$ 6,000,” said Rashid-e-Mahbub, the president of Health Rights Movement, an alliance of 92 organisations working for community health rights in Bangladesh.
“Some corporate offices have gone for group insurance for their employees, but on an individual level, it’s rare. The state-funded coverage programme in Tangail is a pilot project, the government may expand it if it’s a success,” he told Bangla Tribune.