Kathmandu, October 10

The Parliament today passed the long-awaited Health Insurance Bill.

The bill has provisioned insurance coverage of treatment expenses for all citizens. Those insured will get services like yoga, immunisation, family planning, safe motherhood, out-patient care, in-patient care, surgery, medicines, emergency care, curative services, rehabilitation, ambulance and other services.

The bill says civil servants and migrant workers have to enrol their families in the health insurance policy system. People working in private institutions also have to get their families enrolled to avail health insurance policy benefits.

Federal, provincial and local governments will be liable to bear insurance premium of poor and marginalised families. Rehabilitation shelters, orphanages, old-age homes and correction centres will also have to enrol the disabled, orphans and elderly people residing in their shelters.

The bill will give first preference to community hospitals for insurance service and if community hospitals do not offer the health service required, people can avail the facility from private or cooperative hospitals, or hospitals run by donor agencies.

Minister of Health Girirajmani Pokhrel informed the House that he agreed to remove the provision of implementation of the bill 90 days after  certification as per lawmakers’ suggestion, and the Act would come into force immediately after it was certified by the president.

The House also passed the Direct Sale of Commodity (management and regulation) Bill. The House discussed the Language Commission Bill, and the bill relating to pay and perks of provincial governor.