15 April 2020 14:13

The State Agency on Mandatory Health Insurance published its annual report for 2019

The State Agency on Mandatory Health Insurance (Agency) published its annual activity report for 2019. The report contains information on the results of the pilot project, innovations introduced during the project period by healthcare providers that are under supervision of the Agency, medical statistics, and work done in the field of mandatory health insurance (MHI).

It should be noted that the pilot project on the implementation of MHI began in the city of Mingachevir and the Yevlakh district on January 1, 2017, while the project was launched in the Aghdash district on February 16, 2018. During the implementation period, the population was exempt from paying insurance premiums. In the reporting period, the number of insured in the pilot territories amounted to 343,800 people.

Several measures were taken to optimize the activities of healthcare providers in the pilot areas. As a result, the average number of bed-days decreased from 4.6 in 2018 to 4.2. In 2019, the number of doctor visits in the pilot areas was 1.4 million, while 23,888 patients were discharged from hospitals, and 10,060 surgeries were performed. The number of doctor visits last year increased by 26% compared to 2018.

In general, 42,290,400 manats were spent on health expenditures within the pilot project in 2019, of which 34,593,000 were spent on healthcare providers (including primary healthcare), which are under supervision of the Agency. 4,346,410  manats were spent on medical facilities operating on a contractual basis with the Agency, providing medical services within benefit package of MHI and not available in the pilot territories. 3,350,990 manats was the amount of non-deductible value added tax returned to the state budget.

During the reporting period, a number of innovations were introduced to the medical services provided in the pilot areas:
• A bacteriological laboratory was established in Mingachevir Central Hospital. Cataract operations and mini-invasive operations were performed with the new technology.
• A triage system has been established in the emergency department of Yevlakh Central Hospital, as well as two new Family Health Centers.
• Fully automated analyzers were installed in the laboratory department of Agdash Central Hospital and the electronic registration of citizens was organized.
Taking into account that mandatory health insurance is being introduced to the country in stages, the Hospital Management System has been purchased and installed in medical facilities subordinate to the  Administration of the Regional Medical Division for the management of medical facilities, as well as for entering into the software the mandatory health insurance  and medical information for people visiting hospitals. Necessary training was held for employees of the medical facilities.

Awareness-raising events have been organized in a number of regions of the country to inform the population about mandatory health insurance. Taking into account the amendments to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On Health Insurance" and the topics of most interest to citizens related to mandatory health insurance, the official website of the Agency (its.gov.az) has been redesigned with new content.
The report can be found on the official website of the Agency (its.gov.az/Illik2019.pdf).