Minister defends health scheme

Mar 01, 2009

THE proposed National Health Insurance scheme will benefit a member with four dependants, the health state minister, Dr. Richard Nduhuura, has said.

By Anne Mugisa

THE proposed National Health Insurance scheme will benefit a member with four dependants, the health state minister, Dr. Richard Nduhuura, has said.

Nduhuura, however, said the law for the scheme was still a draft and had not been taken to Cabinet yet.

The Bill would have to be vetted by a parliamentary committee before Parliament passes it into law.

He said skeptics were wrong on the failure of the scheme because the providers would be compelled to give quality services.

“The Bill has been designed such that one can sue the provider for poor services,” Nduhuura said.

He said the Government would not directly be involved in the scheme because an independent board would appoint its management team.

He explained that the board would be appointed on recommendation by stakeholders to avoid mistakes like those made by officials of the National Social Security Fund.

Nduhuura was addressing the press at the Media Centre in Kampala on Thursday.

He was accompanied by the commissioner for planning, Dr. Francis Runumi and Dr. Juliet Nabyonga from the World Health Organisation.

The critics of the scheme argue that it would increase the tax burden for the workers.

Nduhuura said Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia were some of the countries where such a scheme was working.

He said Rwanda had about 85% of its population covered by the health scheme.

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