On Thursday, October 31, 2024, government spokesman Wilfried Houngbédji provided details on the costs of health insurance, the generalization phase of which will soon begin.
Health insurance, one of the four integrated services of the Assurance pour le renforcement du capital humain (ARCH) program, will enter full-scale implementation in around six months’ time. At its meeting on Wednesday October 30, 2024, the Council of Ministers approved the signing of a contract with a specialized structure for the operational management of health insurance under the ARCH project. The structure will have 6 months to set up and launch its activities, said the Council of Ministers.
The deputy secretary general of the government recalled that during the pilot phase, which began a few years ago, the subscription for the basic basket was 9,000 FCFA for children and 16,000 FCFA for adults. He pointed out that this represents less than 1,000 FCFA per month for children and less than 1,500 FCFA per month for adults.
The government’s underlying objective is “to ensure that all Beninese and all those living in Benin have health insurance, so that if they need it, they don’t have to think twice about going to hospital”, says Wilfried Houngbédji. Because, he explained, there are Beninese “who, because of their living conditions, hesitate or give up going to the hospital for 1000f or 2000f”. These people, continues the government spokesman, settle for “approximate care” that sometimes causes them irreversible consequences.
