Why govt is withdrawing health insurance Bill

Government is set to withdraw the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) 2019 following disagreements between various stakeholders. 
Dr Moriku Kaducu,  the State minister of Health for Primary Healthcare, yesterday said following a meeting with the President and other stakeholders, it was established that there were disagreements on  contribution and benefits of the Bill, which are  core objectives of the scheme.
“The Ministry of Health had a meeting with the President,  key stakeholders from the private sector, National Social Security Fund and other insurance regulatory authorities. We wanted to confirm if they were in consensus with that Bill. However, some key stakeholders are still not in agreement,” Dr Kaducu said yesterday in a telephone interview.
Dr Kaducu revealed that the key disagreement is on the issue of contribution.  She added: “We have to pull resources together from various categories of population; rich and poor and put it together, that is the key objective.”
 The Ministry of Health in collaboration with other stakeholders is undertaking further consultations to ensure all the stakeholders are in agreement before reintroducing the Bill.
 
 About the Bill
 The NHIS 2019 Bill requires all Ugandans above 18 years to contribute to the scheme before accessing health services across the country.
 Employees in the formal sector will be subjected to a 4 per cent deduction from their salaries while their employers will contribute 1 per cent to the health scheme. Individuals in the informal sector will pay a proposed Shs100, 000 annually.

 However, the  Bill has over time received opposition from some sections of the public, especially workers in the formal sector, who said they are already burdened by various taxes they are paying to the government.
 In 2006, when  government announced plans to introduce a NHIS where all Ugandan residents would be required to have a health insurance policy, many stakeholders criticised the plan saying  it as another burden to employees and such a policy might increase the already high cost of doing business in the country. 

 Mr Gordon Arinda, a member of the Parliamentary Health Committee,  described the move to withdraw the Bill  as painful and pledged to put up a spirited  fight to defend that Bill once the motion is on the floor of Parliament.
 “It has taken us along time to process this Bill. We are ready to present our report for the second reading on the floor of Parliament. Withdrawing the Bill would be very bad because we thought as a committee of health this would be a gift to the community,” Mr Arinda said yesterday.

 However, some  stakeholders have asked government  consider the Bill as a private members Bill as it was initially and not a government Bill, adding that the national health insurance scheme is needed and its long overdue.