Kathmandu: Those over 9.3 million insured individuals under the government’s health insurance scheme can now avail First Service Point (FSP) treatment from any of the 377 public hospitals across the country. The Health Insurance Board announced that policyholders can receive treatment from any healthcare facilities listed in the Board’s FSP list from July 17, regardless of their place of residence.
According to National News Agency Nepal, this recent provision seeks to make health insurance services more accessible, efficient, and citizen-friendly. This announcement marks a significant shift from the earlier provision, which required insured persons to get services from pre-designated FSPs only.
With the new provision in place, Bikesh Malla, Information Officer at the Board, explained with an example that a person insured in Jhapa district in the far eastern part of the country can receive treatment from a hospital, listed as FSP, in the far-western district of Kanchanpur. “The scope to access services from the FSP has been expanded,” he stated, adding that insured individuals receiving treatment at the FSP will be eligible for treatment at referral hospitals.
At present, there are 377 health institutions designated as the first service point and 98 as referral health institutions, according to the Board. The Board has designated federal hospitals, specialist hospitals, specialty hospitals, and health academies as the referral health institutions.
The Board has called on all local-level governments to establish at least one health institution as the FSP. Information Officer Malla also urged the local authorities to submit applications requesting the establishment of such facilities at their nearest public health institutions.
The health insurance programme, launched from Kailali district since 2016, has been providing healthcare services to economically disadvantaged citizens.