People in Chautara Sagachokgadhi Municipality in Sindhupalchowk have been deprived of medical treatment as the health insurance, which the Municipality was supposed to activate, remains inactive. Although the Health Insurance Board has lifted the requirement of first service points, allowing patients to access insurance services at any hospital, Manmaya Dangal,68, of Ward No. 7 visited Bhaktapur Hospital after falling ill. After waiting in a long queue to obtain an insurance ticket, she was informed at the hospital’s insurance counter that her card was inactive. She stated that she trusted that her treatment would be covered by insurance, but when she was told her card was inactive, it added another burden to her illness. Having carried only a small amount of money to the hospital, she was left in doubt about whether she could undergo treatment at all.
Likewise, Sunarani Tamang ,65, of Chautara Sagachokgadhi Municipality–9 was also deprived of treatment at Dhulikhel Hospital because her insurance card had not been activated.
Last year, Chautara Sagachowkgadhi Municipality had announced that it would provide free health insurance to senior citizens, persons with disabilities, Dalits, minorities, and families of martyrs within the municipality. Following the announcement, the municipality collected forms and activated insurance for 2,250 families. However, Dinesh Nepal, Chief of the Municipal Health Section, stated that the insurance forms of 484 families collected since May have been left pending due to a lack of funds.
According to Dinesh Nepal, Chief of the Municipal Health Section, Rs 80,00,000 had been allocated for last year, but once those funds were depleted, the municipality was unable to pay the insurance premiums. He added that for the current fiscal year 2025/2026, Rs 100,00,000 have been allocated for insurance, so there should be no such problem this year.
The municipality has been contributing Rs 3,500 per family for insurance. If a family has more than five members, an additional Rs 700 per extra member must be paid. However, because the municipality failed to submit these additional payments to the Health Insurance Board on time, even families who paid for extra members have been deprived of insurance coverage.
According to the Board’s rules, insurance is activated from mid-June only after the payment is submitted by the 8th of each month. For citizens whose insurance became inactive on August 16, it will now be reactivated at the earliest on October 18, 2025. Due to the municipality’s delays and lack of proper management, patients are currently being deprived of insurance benefits.