Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced the government’s plan to bring all citizens under national health insurance coverage for ensuring health service. As a part of the plan, the government is already implementing a pilot project at Madhupur, Ghatail and Kalihati upazila of Tangail district by bringing poor citizens under health insurance coverage.
The PM further added that the government has already formulated the Healthcare Financing Strategy 2012-2032 for ensuring the universal healthcare services. The pilot project titled ‘Shasthya Surokkha Kormasuchi-SSK’ (Health Protection Programme) is to initially provide the healthcare services to the poor at free of cost at three upazilas of Tangail. Under the project, free health services are being provided to the poor for 78 diseases in the three upazilas.
The success or failure of this project will determine the future of the coverage to all citizens of the country. The initiative is a first for Bangladesh. Health insurance is crucial for the majority of our country’s population. There are many who are living below the poverty line. For these people, along with day-laborers, as well as people living in rural and isolated areas, health insurance will surely go a long way in ensuring their welfare.
The government must formulate a state-
sponsored health insurance coverage
which will benefit the entire population,
particularly the vulnerable factions of society
The government has taken a plan for setting up a community clinic for every 6000 villagers aimed at reaching medical services to the doorsteps. However, the initiative must not neglect the urban poor of our country. The steady migration of people from rural to urban areas means that there are many vulnerable people living in the capital and other big cities.
Government sponsored health insurance is a necessity for people working in the shadow economy. They are not given any job benefits or security. As a result, an illness in the family can wipe out their meager savings in the blink of an eye. Slum-dwellers are also deprived of basic healthcare services due to poverty and frequent displacement.
The government must formulate a state-sponsored health insurance coverage which will benefit the entire population, particularly the vulnerable factions of society. Special care must be taken to ensure a healthcare plan tailored to the needs of the elderly as well as those living with disabilities.