District Hospital Salyan has stopped providing medical treatment services under health insurance since Monday. The district hospital has stopped providing medical treatment services under health insurance, saying that it cannot afford the low rates set in the benefit package revised by the Health Insurance Board since Jestha 16.

The Health Service Office Salyan has published a notice stating that it will not be able to provide services as per the circular of the Health Insurance Board. Patients receiving treatment at low cost through insurance have been affected by the hospital's suspension of the facility. Insurance had made it very convenient for the economically weak, the poor and senior citizens. About 20,000 people were receiving services from District Hospital Salyan annually under health insurance.

Nirmal Nepali, 75, of Sharda Municipality-8, who is taking regular medicine for heart-related diseases, said that he was worried after hearing that he would now have to bear the financial burden of buying the treatment and medicine he was receiving at low cost through insurance. "It is becoming increasingly difficult for chronic patients like us who cannot afford treatment and have to take medicine all the time to cover the treatment costs," he said. Man Bahadur Roka of Bangad Kupinde Municipality-9 said that the amount paid as health insurance fee has been wasted due to the district hospital's decision.

There is a provision to join health insurance for five people from a family to get treatment worth Rs 1 lakh per year for an annual fee of Rs 3,500. Patients have to pay only 10 percent of the fee when receiving treatment under the insurance. Since the discount on the service fee as per the insurance is not available, patients who come to the district hospital for treatment have been forced to pay the hospital's rate.

The insurance board has not provided more than Rs 7 million so far, said District Hospital Chief Dr. Arjun Budhamagar. The office had called for tenders a few months ago for the purchase of medicines, lab equipment and other materials, but as per the latest decision of the Insurance Board, it was found that the insurance-based services could not be provided at the lowest rates, so the Health Service Office Salyan has stopped providing discounts on services and fees, said Dr. Arjun Budhamagar, Manager and Chief of the Health Service Office, Salyan.

He informed that discounts on service fees as prescribed by the Insurance Board could not be provided. He said that since the necessary posts are not provided, it is difficult to maintain the staff by paying salaries from the Hospital Development Committee. 'The government does not provide budget to the Hospital Development Committee.' We have been running the hospital by purchasing medicines, purchasing lab and other materials and hiring health workers from the income generated by the hospital by charging a low fee for the services provided by the hospital,' he said. 'It seems that we will be in a trap rather than operating the hospital at the low rate determined by the Insurance Board, which is why we have stopped the insurance service from Monday.' He said that the service fee cannot be discounted until the Insurance Board makes another decision.

Since the insurance board is supposed to receive more than 7 million rupees a year, it has not arrived so far, so it is difficult to purchase medicines for the pharmacy and purchase materials needed for the lab. She informed that the hospital charges fees ranging from 100 to 2,000 for complex diseases according to different types of services.