Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 26
By Ilhama Isabalayeva - Trend:
There are proposals to charge fees for mandatory medical insurance in Azerbaijan in the form of percentage from salaries for employees, and in the amount of 120 manats for other citizens, Department Head of the Agency for Mandatory Medical Insurance under the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan Araz Nasirov said Sept. 26.
He said that in European countries, an employee and an employer are charged 5-15 percent for mandatory medical insurance. In Azerbaijan, at the preliminary stage, it is proposed that the amount of insurance premiums would be about 3 percent, where 2 percent will account for the share of the employee and 1 percent for the share of the employer.
Nasirov noted that these fees will make it possible to improve healthcare services and increase the salaries of health workers.
He reminded that presently, Azerbaijani government is financing the system of mandatory medical insurance.
In turn, Vugar Gurbanov, the agency’s department head, said that changes will be made to the basic package of the mandatory medical insurance system.
Regarding the ongoing test project in the mandatory medical insurance sphere in Azerbaijan, he noted that some diseases in the territories where the project is being implemented weren’t included in the basic package, so they will be provided in a new package.
Gurbanov added that the new basic package will also contain diagnoses and the related medical prescriptions and treatment. He added that the existing basic package contains only medical services.
He noted that the new package will be ready by the end of this year.
Gurbanov said that since 2019, the mandatory medical insurance system is planned to be applied throughout Azerbaijan.
Earlier, Director of the State Agency for Mandatory Medical Insurance under the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan Zaur Aliyev said that the approximate amount of insurance premiums for obtaining mandatory medical insurance services is set at 120 manats.
He said that a number of categories of Azerbaijani citizens will be exempt from paying insurance premiums.
“These are children, pensioners, disabled people and low-income families,” Aliyev said. “The state will pay their expenses.”
The State Agency for Mandatory Medical Insurance began operating in Azerbaijan in February 2016.
Since the end of 2016, Azerbaijan has been implementing a test project on mandatory medical insurance, which presently covers the city of Mingachevir, as well as the Yevlakh and Agdash districts of the country.
(1.7 manats = 1 USD on Sept. 26)