Children’s health insurance essential for universal coverage – experts

Insurance players are rooting for the expansion of children’s medical insurance as a way of boosting universal coverage in Uganda.

While children still make up the biggest bulk of private health insurance in the country, the overall coverage remains very low. Dan Musiime, Jubilee Health Insurance CEO, said only 400,000 Ugandans are enrolled on private health insurance, which is provided mostly by corporate companies.

About half of these are children, while around 150,000 are the principal members. Musiime said a key to expanding health insurance in Uganda is increasing coverage for children since insurance provided by corporate companies tends to cover a limited number of family members.

“While most corporates extend private medical insurance to staff, most of it is restricted to the principal member. Some allow one or two
dependants, while others limit the maximum number of dependants to four,” he said.

Musiime was speaking at the launch of the J-Junior Medical Cover, a new insurance product by Jubilee Health Insurance. The first of its kind in Uganda, J-Junior caters for the unique needs of children aged zero to 17 years.

Musiime said the new product is part of Jubilee’s objective to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure. According to the World Bank’s 23rd Uganda Economic Update Report, one million Ugandans slip into poverty annually due to out-of-pocket health expenses.

Musiime said the new product was developed in response to statistics from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Health, which revealed significant gaps in healthcare access and outcomes for children in Uganda.

Research shows that the under-five mortality rate stands at 46 deaths per 1,000 live births, with many children suffering from preventable illnesses due to a lack of timely medical care.

Dr Maurice Ego, the Head of Claims at Jubilee Health Insurance, said on top of providing coverage for all family members in homes, J-Junior Medical Cover has come to support Ugandan parents in the diaspora

“Many of our people are abroad working very hard but often they get calls that a child is not well and they have to arrange with Western Union to send dollars to cater for these kids. This may cause the condition of the child to deteriorate. Besides, the person they are sending the money may not take the child to the right paediatrician. This policy will ensure that such parents have a piece of mind, knowing that their child’s health will be fully taken care of,” he said.

According to Dr Dan Tumwiine from the Children’s Clinic Naalya, there are about 25 million patient visits a year in Uganda, and two million in Greater Kampala Wakiso and Mukono. From his experience, Tumwine says the demand for private medical insurance is on the rise mostly among business owners and entrepreneurs.