Nepal’s national health insurance program recorded 12.5 million hospital visits last fiscal year, according to Health Insurance Board Executive Director Raghunath Kafle. While the data suggests an average of five visits per beneficiary, only 2.5 million people used the service even once, indicating unequal utilization. Kafle said the number of enrollees seeking services is rising annually, and the Board is working on expanding coverage and amending the Health Insurance Act, 2017. However, experts warn that the scheme is struggling due to delayed payments to hospitals and financial instability: premium collections total only Rs 3.75 billion, compared to Rs 14 billion owed to service providers.
