May 24, Kathmandu - In a move aimed at making the health insurance program sustainable, the government of Nepal is considering allocating taxes from tobacco and alcohol directly into the health insurance fund. This development was announced by Dr. Toshima Karki, a Member of Parliament from the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), during a program organized by the Nepal Development Research Institute in Kathmandu on Sunday, Jestha 10.

According to former Health Minister Dr. Karki, a restructuring process is underway to channel the taxes (syntax) levied on tobacco and alcohol directly into the health insurance corpus. She emphasized that this innovative model is crucial to saving Nepal’s struggling health insurance system.

"Currently, the health insurance program is in a state of collapse. To prevent its failure, we are exploring ways to secure a sustainable funding source. Under this plan, taxes collected from tobacco, alcohol, and unhealthy foods will be directly spent on health insurance," she explained.

Dr. Karki highlighted that it is more just and logical to allocate taxes on harmful products directly to the health sector. She also shared that, over the past week and a half, discussions with secretaries and stakeholders have been ongoing to develop various models to restructure the health insurance scheme. The Ministry of Finance has reportedly shown a positive outlook toward prioritizing Syntax in the upcoming budget to develop a new, sustainable health insurance framework.

The primary goal of this policy shift is to ensure the longevity of the health insurance program and to guarantee access to healthcare for the poor and vulnerable populations.