Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 30
By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:
Mandatory medical insurance in Azerbaijan will be fully implemented within five years, director of the State Agency for Mandatory Medical Insurance under the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan Zaur Aliyev told reporters in Baku.
He said that this period will be considered a transitional one, and during this time, the coverage of mandatory medical insurance will be gradually expanded.
“As you know, for the second year we have been implementing a pilot project, which additionally covered Agdash district this year,” Aliyev said. “If during the first year we paid more attention to the number of services and their accessibility for the population, this year more attention is paid to quality. At the same time, we prepared a plan for a full transition of entire Azerbaijan to mandatory medical insurance. In July, a consultant was appointed for us, who will be in charge of the successful transition period. Great work has been done and a special road map has been prepared. We will try that the transition takes place without problems.”
He added that by the end of the year, the work will begin with medical institutions for their preparation for the transition period. He noted that the transition period will differ from the pilot projects and the expansion will depend not on the geography, but on the provision of services.
“We want that after five years, any citizen of Azerbaijan, regardless of financial situation, could apply to medical institutions and get the necessary services,” Aliyev said. “This requires a lot of work to be done. This will happen in stages. Starting from next year, the expansion will take place not on a geographical basis, but rather by phased provision of certain services.”
The State Agency for Mandatory Medical Insurance started operating in Azerbaijan in February 2016. Since the end of 2016, a pilot project on mandatory medical insurance is being implemented in Azerbaijan. The project presently covers the city of Mingachevir, as well as the Yevlakh and Agdash districts of Azerbaijan.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Anvar_Mammadov