The parliamentary committee on health has reveals plans to hold public hearings to collect views on the National Health Insurance Bill, 2019.
According to Dr Michael Bukenya the committee chairperson, they plan to conduct hearings in the North, West, Eastern and Central Uganda before compiling a report on the Bill, but they are to select the venues.
Last year, government introduced the National Health Insurance Scheme Bill 2019 which seeks to among others create a Universal Health Care scheme to improve health outcomes and expand access to essential health care services for all people in need.
This is expected to pool resources from the rich and healthy people in formal and informal sector to subsidize medical treatment for the poor, street children, persons with disabilities and the elderly.
The scheme proposes that formally employed workers, including civil servants, will contribute 4 percent of their monthly salary to the scheme and an additional 4 percent from the employer, while the informal sector workers and employers will contribute a total of 5 percent to the scheme.
The scheme shall be led by a board of directors and will be charged with collecting and receiving funds and hold, invest, administer and disburse funds received, determine the payment mechanism to be used to pay health care providers among other functions.
The Bill also seeks to ensure that all government hospitals and health centres as well as accredited private health facilities are contracted as health care providers across Uganda.
The bill, was in August 2019 referred to the health committee for further scrutiny and in September, members of the public interested in submitting views on the Bill were asked to register with the Clerk to Parliament. 20 stakeholders including individuals and groups expressed interest and the committee has been meeting them since October.
Now, Bukenya says the committee has so far received submissions from 15 stakeholders including the ministry of health, Insurance Regulatory Authority-IRA, National Social Security Fund-NSSF.
A report on the Bill is expected to be presented to the entire house by the committee before end of June 2020.
