In a recent interview with a reporter from Mehr, Vahid Khalilollahi discussed the significant increase in medical expenses for patients. He revealed that before the implementation of the Darvar project, pharmaceutical costs stood at 5.8 billion tomans in Iran. However, by September of this year, these costs had surged to 27 billion tomans.
Transforming Healthcare and Expanding Insurance Coverage for Medical Expenses
Khalilollahi explained that the shift in approach involves redirecting drug subsidies from pharmaceutical companies to consumers, ensuring that insurance companies offer services at approved rates. The Director General of Ardabil Health Insurance stated that there are currently no barriers to accessing medication for special patients, and they can easily obtain the necessary drugs.
Khalilollahi also highlighted that 61% of the province’s population is covered by health insurance, with 769 thousand people benefiting from these services under an integrated insurance system. Additionally, he mentioned that 9% of provincial institutions have contracts with health insurance, providing various services, including pharmacy, laboratory, radiology, physiotherapy, and more.
Furthermore, Khalilollahi noted that in the past year, there were 4.4 million hospital and clinic visits by insured individuals, resulting in payments of 786 billion Tomans to policyholders. He projected outpatient health insurance payments to reach 300 billion Tomans by the end of the current year, with an estimated 151 billion Tomans in the first half.
Ardabil Health Insurance’s Digital Innovations and Family Doctor Plan
To improve the accessibility of services for insured individuals, Ardabil Health Insurance has implemented an electronic system, offering round-the-clock assistance and various services without the need for in-person visits. Khalilollahi emphasized their commitment to enhancing these services in the future. Special patients can also avail themselves of free services by marking their insurance.
In addition to these developments, Khalilollahi announced the readiness of health insurance to implement a family doctor plan in both urban and rural areas. This initiative, which involves cooperation with 148 contracted doctors, aims to provide services to over 410,000 residents in villages and towns with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants. He also mentioned that last year, 106 billion Tomans were allocated to insured individuals through level-one rural insurance, with most services being provided at minimal or no cost.
Resource: Mehr News Agency, November 03, 2023
This article has been prepared with the assistance of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more details, please refer to our Terms and Conditions. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author.
