More than 1,500 people have received their provisional registration cards and certificates for the universal health insurance scheme. Twelve structures have been affiliated and 199,112 have been pre-registered. This was announced by the Minister in charge of of social protection at a conference on October 29, 2024, in Ouagadougou.
To shed light on the state of implementation of the RAMU and the planned contribution rates, the Ministers in charge of social protection, Bassolma Bazié, and health, Dr Robert Kargougou, held a press briefing on Tuesday October 29 at the headquarters of the Caisse nationale d’assurance maladie universelle (CNAMU). According to Minister Bassolma Bazié, six priority decrees and two decrees implementing these decrees have been adopted to date. He pointed out that insured persons must pay a moderating fee of 30% in order to benefit from RAMU services.
“Insured persons must pay a co-payment of 30% in order to benefit from RAMU services. Eligible benefits include: general medical care, medical and surgical specialties, nursing care, hospitalization and surgical procedures, and medical biology tests. ».
With regard to contributions, the Minister explained that a categorization of contributors had been established: public sector workers and salaried workers governed by the Labor Code, self-employed workers in the formal sector and in the informal economy, beneficiaries of pensions or annuities and destitute persons.
“The contributions for the universal health insurance scheme are as follows: for government employees and salaried and similar workers, the monthly contribution rate is set at five percent (5%) of gross remuneration, with two point five percent (2.5%) payable by the employer (public or private) and two point five percent (2.5%) payable by the employee (public or private).“he added.
A three-month contribution period before receiving benefits
Soumaila Gamsoré, General Manager of CNAMU, has indicated that the probationary period, i.e. the legal period between the start of payment of contributions and the start of the insured person’s entitlement to benefits, will be three months, compared with six months in some countries.
According to the CNAMU General Manager, devices will be installed in hospitals to identify patients on arrival and check the validity of their contributions. “We also have a medical control team that will check the various prescriptions at their level,” said Soumaila Gamsoré. He confided that his organization is working with the Ministry of Health’s computer specialists on the process of digitizing certain services.
Dr Robert Kargougou, Minister in charge of health, pointed out that the CNAMU’s basket of treatments in Burkina Faso is very proactive and open, unlike in other countries where the universal health insurance scheme covers only a few benefits.
For his part, the Minister in charge of social protection indicated that RAMU aims to gradually cover the entire population. To achieve this, a roadmap has been drawn up, with actions to popularize the RAMU texts through information and awareness-raising sessions for those subject to the scheme, training for health agents in management tools, the introduction of affiliation and registration systems, the introduction of contribution collection systems and the continued adoption of 9 other application texts out of the 17 planned, continued consultations with all stakeholders, and the continued digitization of acts and procedures. He also announced that the President of Faso has instructed that 30 billion CFA francs will be earmarked for UHIP by 2025.
