Only 18 per cent of subscribers managed to pay their fees to the community-based health insurance scheme known as Mutuelle de Santé, the media heard on Friday, less than a month to the deadline.
This was revealed in a press conference organized by the Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB) and the Local Government Ministry to shed light on what was achieved last year and the plan for the fiscal year 2020/2021.
Mutuelle de Santé is the largest insurance scheme in the world, catering 88 per cent of Rwanda’s 12 million people for healthcare needs.
Although the government pays Rwf2, 000 subsidy to the scheme per year for every poor individual in category one of Ubudehe, it is estimated that categories two and three will cover their Rfw3, 000 fee although category four will pay 7,000.
The current number of subscribers who have paid is much lower than previously achieved by RSSB, and can be blamed for the Covid-19 outbreak that saw many people lose income due to lockdown limitations.
For example, a total of 78.5 per cent subscribed to Mutuelle de Santé for the year 2018/2019, and this number slightly increased in 2019/2020 to 79.6 per cent.
RSSB’s Director-General, Regis Rugemanshuro, said that so far only 42,777 families made up of 198,644 individuals (18 per cent) have been able to pay their subscription.
He blamed this however on the failure of some people to grasp the value of paying for health insurance, where some believe their immune system is strong enough.
“The subscription runs from July 1 to June 30 but so far, only 18 percent of the subscribers have paid. We would like others to follow their example and do the same because it is best to be prepared than to think of subscription when you are already sick,” he said.
To raise the numbers, RSSB is launching campaigns with the local government ministry to raise awareness of the value of paying their Mutuelle de Santé fees.
Unlike addressing huge masses, however, only door-to – door methods plus media messages will be used according to the social distancing guidelines of government.
Ignatienne Nyirarukundo, the minister of state in charge of social affairs, called on the district authorities to make sure their local citizens pay on time.
“We request districts to ensure that more people pay and also to make any necessary corrections in the subscribers’ bio data plus working on linking the information with the subscribers’ current address so that they are easy to reach,” she said.
Issues about the RSSB are not new. The fund had a funding deficit of Rwf14.6bn Mutuelle de Santé, with annual contributions of Rwf32.8 billion, including government subsidies, by the last year.
The Government announced last year its intention to inject additional funding totalling Rwf10bn to fix the deficit.
The government also announced an additional annual Rwf6b to the scheme via direct funding from the budget.
This is in addition to 100% of the amount collected as penalties for trade in under-standard products paid by the public institution responsible for standards as well as 10% of all fees charged on services offered by gaming firms.
Other revenue streams for the insurance scheme include 10% of the fees collected from road traffic fines, and between 2.5% and 3% of the annual turnover of the telecommunications sector.
Each year telecommunications firms alone contribute Rwf3.5 billion to the scheme.
Fifty percent of the registration fees for pharmaceutical products and medical devices will also apply, as well as one hundred percent of the amount collected as medical research fees paid by the health ministry.
The initiative would also obtain 50 per cent of the fees received by the Rwandan National Police for technical inspection of motor vehicles.
