MoH informs about the Government’s intention to start implementing SHI starting with coverage of workers in the civil service. This is announced as a way to start implementation of the SHI scheme in the absence of a legislative basis, and in line with the outcomes of the last collective bargaining with civil service unions representatives.
Reassurance was made by the MoH that the Government remains strongly supportive of a Universal Health Coverage approach, and that coverage of civil service workers will only be a first step, before coverage can be extended to the whole population, on a phased manner, and once the SHI Bill is enacted. The SHI bill drafting workshop (27 to 31 October) confirmed the UHC approach.
However, starting with coverage of civil service raises major concerns, especially in the absence of guarantees that the scheme will then be extended to the rest of the population. A fragmented approach to Social Health Protection, with creation of separate risk pools and different levels of protection for different segments of the population would have serious implications on equity, solidarity, cost-efficiency and financial sustainability.
