Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan completed the phased rollout of its state health insurance system in all regions of the country on 1 October.
Under the new system, funding for medical organizations is linked to the volume and type of services actually provided under the state-guaranteed healthcare package.
Sayyora Shoeva, head of the information service of the State Health Insurance Fund, announced the completion of the rollout at a briefing at the Content Training Centre for Media.
According to Shoeva, the Fund reimburses medical organizations for providing services included in the state-guaranteed package. Funding is therefore allocated not simply to a medical institution but based on the medical services actually provided and their volume.
Medical organizations currently receive payments through three mechanisms: per capita financing, a global budget and payment per treated case.
Per capita financing covers medical services for each registered citizen. The calculation takes into account the population size, as well as age and gender.
The global budget mechanism provides a set amount of funding for medical services covered by the state-guaranteed package. Under this model, funding is provided to AIDS organizations, blood transfusion centres, emergency medical care centres, forensic pathology bureaus, oncology hospitals, neurological and psychiatric institutions, as well as narcological and tuberculosis hospitals.
Payment per treated case applies to inpatient medical services provided to patients under the state-guaranteed package.
The Fund noted that the new approach links financing not to maintaining a medical institution as such, but to the results of medical service delivery. Both state and non-state medical organizations that meet the established requirements can participate in the system.
From January through September this year, the Fund paid medical organizations more than 27.1 trillion soums. Of this amount, more than 111.2 billion soums was allocated for nephrology and hemodialysis services.
The completion of the phased rollout across all regions marks the transition to the next stage of the reform.
The main focus will be on improving existing mechanisms, developing strategic purchasing of medical services and increasing the efficiency of healthcare financing.
Ultimately, the system is intended to ensure the timely and quality provision of necessary medical care to the population under the state-guaranteed healthcare package.
