The Government has announced that patients registered with health insurance companies will pay more for medical services. Health minister Diane Gashumba said the revised medical tariff is for medical insurance schemes, RAMA/RSSB and private insurance firms.
Addressing journalists in Kigali, yesterday, the minister said RAMA/ RSSB beneficiaries will see an increment of 25 per cent on current tariff, those covered by MMI and other private health insurances will pay an extra 15 per cent, but those under the community health insurance scheme, Mutuelle de Sante, remain unchanged.
“The increment will help hospitals improve service delivery, increase capacity of hospitals to buy equipment and drugs. It means the price of a drug that previously cost Rwf10,000, will now be Rwf12,500 for RAMA holders and Rwf11,500 for others. We have been using the prices of 2012 and they needed to change,” Dr Gashumba said.
Pharmaceutical prices were rising on the market and, therefore, the prices charged on services in hospitals must be increased because it has been affecting service delivery, according to officials.
The ministry explained that the increment will affect drugs, consultation and laboratory tests and other medical services but not on monthly contributions by workers.
Innocent Nkurunziza, an advisor to the Prime Minister, said hospitals spend a lot of money on providing medical services yet the fees provided by insurance companies for their clients or fees paid by patients could not cover the high cost of medical services and drugs
“The increase will not severely impact patients because the health insurance companies will still intervene in paying the cost as they usually do. However, the impact will be felt by those without medical insurance, so everyone is required to subscribe to health insurance,” he said.
Dr Gashumba said Mutuelle de Sante tariff remained unchanged since the Government will continue to meet the cost.
Moses Kazoora, the communication specialist at Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB), said the insurer continue covering the usual 85 per cent of the cost.
He said contrary to what some hospitals were alleging that RAMA did not cover some services, they covered everything. The new tariff would plug the loophole.
Syldio Hatangimbabazi, chief pharmacist at SOPHAR, a company that imports and distributes pharmaceutical products in the country, said they had been experiencing a rise in prices.
“Prices have increased, but the main cause according to our experience, is not due to the source of imports but the depreciation of Rwandan Franc. For example, if a Euro or a Dollar was Rwf700 and then rose to Rwf800 today, it has a big impact on prices of imported products,” he said.
He said they spend over Rwf2.5 billion a year on their imports, namely drugs, medical equipment, consumables and laboratory reagents.
Hatangimbabazi said when the Rwandan Franc depreciates, it affects the distribution and health service value chain as even some purchasers sometimes stop buying.
RSSB’s Kazoora also said that the Franc depreciation was among the main factors behind the increase in pricing.
The New Times
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