President Kim Yong-ik of the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS). (Photos: NHIS)

The National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) issued a report to suggest mid- and long-term strategies related to Nepal’s medical insurance regime in the post-COVID-19 era for the Ministry of Health and Population and the Health Insurance Board (HIB).

The suggestion was made as part of NHIS’s project to provide support to build Nepal’s health insurance regime.
The report was delivered to the Nepali ministry and HIB, respectively. Nepal plans to establish mid- and long-term medical care insurance development strategies in cooperation with the NHIS, based on the report.

The report introduced roles & functions based on the superiority of Korea’s health regime, which has enabled the nation to mostly prevent COVID-19, as well as ways of overhauling Nepal’s medical care insurance regime, based on the experience of the operation of the Korean health insurance system.

NHIS’s project to provide support to Nepal to establish a health insurance regime, commissioned by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), is designed to expand and stabilize Nepal’s coverage of national health insurance.

The project has been implemented since June 2019, and it will be progressing by December.

The project involves policy consultations on the Nepali medical insurance regime, the strengthening of medical insurance-related officials’ capabilities, a health insurance subscribers’ satisfaction survey, and research on the improving of subscription and renewal rates, and support on the implementation of the local health insurance system.

Nepal has been facing with social and economic hardship as the number of COVID-19 cases has surpassed 19,000, and more than 100 new cases have been reported daily. Like other developing countries, Nepal is in a desperate situation, waiting for help from international organizations since the nation is in danger because of an insufficient medical care system.

NHIS has been maintaining close online cooperative relations with the Nepali government as most international cooperation projects have been suspended due to such measures as lockdowns, and it is implementing the project under a humanitarian purpose.

The project to support Nepal’s building health insurance regime has hit numerous stumbling blocks due to the spread of COVID-19, but NHIS will do its best that Nepal people can enjoy benefits through health insurance, a NHIS official said.

Guna Nidhi Sharma, Senior Health Administrator of Nepal’s Ministry of Health and Population, Policy, Planning and Monitoring Division, receives a report to suggest mid- and long-term strategies related to Nepal’s medical insurance regime in the post-COVID-19 era, issued by NHIS. (Photos: NHIS)

NHIS Holds Meeting with Korean Member Bodies of ISSA East Asia Region

NHIS had a meeting with Korean member institutions of International Social Security Association (ISSA) East Asia region at NHIS headquarters in Wonju on July 24.

The meeting brought together representative from member institutions of ISSA East Asia region – the National Pension Service (NPS), Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency and the Korea Social Security Information Service as well as the Government Employees Pension System (GEPS) and Teachers’ Pension (TP).

 
Participants discussed ways of promoting cooperation with international society among Korea’s representative social security institutions. It was the first time such a meeting among Korea’s representative social security institutions had taken place.

Earlier, NHIS held a ceremony to sign an MOU on the established of a social security consultation body among seven social security institutions to explore sustainable development of the social security regime and improve the quality of people’s life at NHIS headquarters in Wonju on May 12.