16 March 2018 11:39

The State Agency on Mandatory Health Insurance announced its annual report for 2017

The State Agency on Mandatory Health Insurance has published a report on the results of the pilot project in the administrative districts of Mingachevir and Yevlakh region.

The annual report contains information on the activities of the Agency, the improvement of primary health care services and the organization of medical services, as well as implemented actions in the field of mandatory health insurance.

It is noteworthy to mention that, according to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, a pilot project on mandatory health insurance has been launched from January 1, 2017. No insurance fees were collected from the population during the project period.

During the reporting period, the total number of insured and officially registered IDPs in pilot areas was 256,401.

Within the project, 1829 free medical services are provided, of which 480 are outpatient, 677 are stationary, 6 are emergency, 18 are primary health care and 23 are physiotherapeutic medical services. There are also 459 laboratory examination and 166 vitally important health services .

Healthcare expenses of the population provided by free of charge medical services were significantly reduced, and direct incurred costs paid by the population in the framework of the benefit package were eliminated by 100 percent. In addition, access to medical services for the population, which is one of the main goals of mandatory health insurance, has been ensured. According to the report, the number of inpatient services increased by 21 percent and the number of surgeries by 33 percent compared to 2016. The total number of surgeries was 8274. Cardiovascular surgery is a major part of vital surgeries, with a total share of 80% and value of 1.7 million manat. According to statistics, 980 medical services on cardiovascular surgery were performed for 375 patients.

As a result of the application of international experience, the hospital stay was reduced and the average number of days spent in bed was optimized. So, compared to 2016, the average number of days spent in bed has decreased from 9.5 to 4.8 in Mingachevir and from 16.5 to 7.3 in the Yevlakh region.

During the implementation of the pilot project, the payment mechanism fee for service was established, the salaries of the employees were increased and the the per capita payment method widely used in international practice was implemented.

The analysis of the cost on financing healthcare expenditure during the pilot project shows that per capita healthcare expenditure in the pilot regions is 114 manat, considering capital investments, and 93 manat, excluding large capital investments.

In 2017, 26.2 million manat (21 million for hospitals, 3 million for improvement of primary healthcare services and 2.2 million for contracted medical institutions ) was spent on financing health care within the pilot project.

Taking into account that information technology plays a major role in the saving of funds allocated to healthcare and the efficient use of financial resources, a number of measures regarding electronising health care services have been taken during the reporting period. After the pilot project was launched for the timely execution of insurance payments and reporting, the hospitals were equipped with computers and software, resulting in 80% electronic access to internal activity.

During the reporting period, the primary health care service was reorganized and its material and technical base as well as infrastructure were improved. In Yevlakh region five primary health care facilities (Yevlakh city, Malbinasi village, Karamanli village, Khaldan and Aran settlements) and in Mingachevir city 2 primary health care facilities with sanitary and epidemiological requirements were established in Yevlakh region on sanitary-epidemiological requirements. There are 18 medical services provided by family doctors.

At the same time it should be noted that the establishment and improvement of the legal framework regulating the financial and legal bases of mandatory health insurance is one of the main factors determining the application of mandatory health insurance in the country in 2019. Therefore, it is proposed that the draft law on Mandatory Health Insurance prepared by the Agency and other relevant normative legal acts after agreed upon the relevant authorities shall be submitted to the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan in a short period of time.

The full text of the report can be found on the Agency's official website (its.gov.az).