THE National Assembly has postponed the tabling of the Universal Health Coverage Bill for the second and third reading and moved it the Standing Committee for Social Services and Community Development for further consultations.
The bill was scheduled to come for the second and the reading in the Parliament session which was adjourned yesterday but the Speaker Dr Tulia Ackson announced to the MPs that further consultations need to be done before making decision.
“Members of Parliament (MPs) will not debate and pass the Universal Health Coverage Bill 2022 today following concerns raised by lawmakers and stakeholders, which needs to be taken care of by the committee,” Dr Tulia told the House.
She said following the recommendations given by lawmakers and stakeholders during the public hearing on bill, they have decided to return it to the Social Services and Community Development Committee for further discussions.
The Speaker said that, the bill will be tabled in the next session which is expected to resume early next year after all impotent issues which have been raised are resolved where the lawmakers will debate and pass it.
In September this year, Parliament was availed with the Universal Health Coverage Bill, which will allow judicial officers to impose a prison term or a fine of between 5m/- to 100m/- for unscrupulous officials in unwarranted use of health insurance schemes.
The Bill among others proposes moves to scrutinise private health service providers, including appointment of National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) authorities in boards of private hospitals to facilitate regulation.
Usually, when the Bill is presented for the first reading in Parliament, MPs ought not to debate or issue any other proposed amendments, instead, it is subjected to sectoral parliamentary committees which invite stakeholders to air their views before the final draft is presented in parliament.
The much awaited bill went for the first reading in the Parliament which sat in last September, and then the documents went for a public hearing. This session was preceded by meetings of the 15 Parliamentary committees.
Out of the 15 committees, eight committees to present their reports on activities carried out from October 10-30.
The two Bills: Universal Health Insurance (UHI) and Personal Data Protection have since been tabled for the first reading and attracted huge public interest and debate.
Data indicate that by 2021 out of about 60 million Tanzanians, only 15 per cent of them were covered, which means out of every 100 Tanzanians, 15 are covered.
During the public hearing the government expressed optimism that the UHI would be a solution in ensuring that every Tanzanian has access to quality healthcare services.
Therefore, to get all Tanzanians onboard, the UHI membership card will be made as part of the prerequisites to access some public services.
For instance, it will be compulsory for citizens to have health insurance whenever seeking a driving license, motor vehicles insurance and admitting children for advanced secondary education or colleges.
Other services that will also be issued after producing evidence of being enrolled in health insurance schemes are provision of travel document (passport), Taxpayers Identification Number (TIN), business license, visa, sim card registration and provision of national identification card (ID), the Bill proposes.
The ninth session also debated the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) report and came up with a number of recommendations for further action.