30 March 2021 16:02

From April 1, mandatory health insurance will be implemented for the entire population of the country

From April 1^st, 2021, mandatory health insurance will be introduced for the entire population of the country. The population with official registration in Baku and Sumgayit cities, and the Absheron region will also receive 2550 medical services included in the Benefit Package for mandatory health insurance.

The Benefit Package includes primary health care, emergency and urgent care, specialized outpatient care, laboratory, physiotherapy, invasive radiology and inpatient medical services. Within the Benefit Package, medical services are provided in health facilities supervised by the Administration of the Regional Medical Divisions (TABIB) (TABIB) and if it is not possible to provide services in those medical facilities, then they will be referred, and the services will be provided in contracted medical facilities.

Except for emergencies and urgent medical care, citizens should first consult a family doctor for their health problems. For this purpose, citizens should apply to the public health facility providing primary health care and choose a family doctor in accordance with the "Rules for assigning the insured to a public medical facility for primary health care." The family doctor will refer citizens to a specialized doctor after examination or treatment if specialized medical care is needed. When visiting a medical facility having been referred, an identity card must be presented to the registrar.

Due to the pandemic in the country, some public health facilities have been assigned to the fight against the coronavirus infection. These medical facilities currently are not providing other medical services. Taking this into consideration, the Agency has applied to the relevant government agency to postpone the collection of co-financing until January 1, 2022.

It should be noted that according to the Law on Health Insurance, co-financing is paid when using outpatient, laboratory, or functional-diagnostic medical services without applying to the primary health care, as well as when applying to a public medical facility outside the Regional Medical Division to which the citizen was referred.

The mandatory health insurance fee is paid for all citizens from the state budget. Also, from January 1, 2021, mandatory health insurance fees are collected from employers and employees in the public and oil sectors, employers and employees in the non-public and non-oil sectors, natural persons providing works (services) under civil-legal contracts and individuals engaged in entrepreneurial activities. Citizens can calculate the amount of mandatory health insurance fees that will be deducted from their salaries or income using a calculator available on the official website of the State Agency on Mandatory Health Insurance (Agency).

Detailed information on mandatory health insurance can be found on the official website of the Agency and on the pages of the Agency on social networks. Citizens can also contact the “1542” Call Center of the Agency or send an e-mail to info@its.gov.az, social media pages of the Agency or TABIB (info@tabib.gov.az) for their inquiries on mandatory health insurance.