Health Insurance Dues to Be Paid After Elections: Finance Minister

Finance Minister Rameshore Prasad Khanal has said that the government will clear the outstanding liabilities under the health insurance programme only after the elections.

Speaking at a press conference organized by the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday, Finance Minister Khanal said that although the government is obliged to settle payments under the health insurance scheme, it cannot release such a large amount of additional funds immediately as it does not have the authority to exceed the approved budget ceiling. The finance minister clarified that the ministry can only reallocate funds within the existing budget framework.

Khanal said that once budget authority is delegated, it rests with the concerned ministry, and the Ministry of Finance cannot withdraw allocated funds unless the respective ministry surrenders them. Only then can reallocation be made.

He added that the Finance Ministry, under its contingency budget head, had provided Rs 1 billion to the health insurance programme. Recently, the Ministry of Health reallocated Rs 720 million from its own budget, bringing the total additional arrangement so far to Rs 1.72 billion.

However, the Ministry of Health has yet to determine the exact liability. The outstanding amount is estimated to be around Rs 7 billion. Khanal said additional budget releases could be made after the March 5 election.