The
National Social Security Fund is developing a health insurance and work
injuries scheme for civil servants, officials have confirmed.
The NSSF
yesterday had meetings with representatives of various institutions – including
the Ministries of Health and Labour – to work out a plan for the proposed
scheme, according to a post on Facebook.
“This is
the first time the fund is considering the creation of a health insurance plan
for civil servants,” NSSF deputy director Sum Saphorn said yesterday. “Now we
are preparing the new health insurance plan, and then we will submit it to the
government for approval.”
If the
scheme is approved, insurance that covers illnesses, prenatal care and
work-related injuries would be available for about 300,000 civil servants,
Saphorn said. All workers who receive salaries from the state would be eligible
for coverage under the scheme.
Saphorn
said workers would be expected to pay a registration fee, but the amount has
yet to be determined. He said he hoped the scheme would be in place by 2017.
Officials said Cambodia’s civil servants were badly in need of healthcare
coverage.
“We
currently have a budget to help civil servants who get sick, but we couldn’t
afford 100 per cent coverage,” said Minister of Public Function Pech Bunthi. “I
think this plan could make workers more productive because they will get care
when they’re ill.”
Cheav
Savuthea, an administrative chief of the Department of Education, said that
there was no money for healthcare for workers in his department or in schools.
“When one
of our staff members gets sick, we ask our colleagues for donations to buy milk
and fruit and bring it to the hospital,” he said.
But some
experts expressed skepticism about the quality of healthcare the insurance
would provide.
“We don’t
trust Cambodian clinics and hospitals, either state run or private,” said Sorn
Chey, a rights worker with the Affiliated Network for Social Accountability in
East Asia and the Pacific. “I think the NSSF should ensure that quality
healthcare is provided by implementing a monitoring system.”
Political
analyst Ou Virak, meanwhile, argued that it would be more efficient to raise
civil servants’ salaries to allow them to purchase private insurance.
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