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Lovemore Mataire Senior Reporter
THE government is drawing up plans to set up a national health insurance scheme for the poor. Health and Child Care Minister David Parirenyatwa said as many as 90 percent of the country’s population did not have health insurance, also known as medical aid. “A national insurance health company is imperative, especially at this juncture when we need to protect our citizens who can’t afford high medical bills,” Parirenyatwa said. We proposed this idea a long time ago, but issues to do with funding delayed its coming into life.”
Parirenyatwa was speaking on the sidelines of a four-day workshop on the National Protection Framework Policy in Victoria Falls last week.
The minister said many African countries had national health insurance schemes for those on the fringes of the mainstream economy or were unemployed.
He said although the government would play a leading role in funding the scheme, it was envisaged that everybody, including villagers, should contribute towards the facility.
The minister said a draft national social protection framework should include a health insurance scheme to cater for those who could not afford exorbitant medical bills.
The National Social Protection Policy Framework for Zimbabwe is designed to give effect to the values, principles, policies and priorities articulated in the country’s economic blueprint, Zim-Asset.
The policy came out of a realisation of weaknesses inherent in the country’s social protection system, which include its exclusionary nature on available services; lack of predictability, consistency, transparency and durability in most schemes and the absence of centralised coordination of social protection under various ministries.
The policy framework places the government at the centre in mobilising resources for social protection while additional resources can be sought from development partners, the private sector, civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations.
The government is also expected to create an enabling environment for the private sector and other development partners to contribute towards social protection pillars.
Other strategies for mobilisation of resources include yearly budgets, revenue from natural resources, tax reforms as well as improved revenue collection to ensure that adequate resources are availed for social protection in a predictable and sustainable manner.
Health insurance is intended to reduce the financial burden of purchasing health care by pooling funds and sharing risks of unexpected health situations. Ghana, Tanzania, Nigeria and Uganda have viable national health schemes that cater for the poor.
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