Compare: Benefits package

Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage

The Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage systematically documents the reforms of its member countries and other countries that have expanded health coverage through demand-side financing. The case studies contained in these pages are brief, comparative and modular in nature, describing the key highlights and technical features of each program.


Compare various dimensions of country reform efforts using our interactive tool.


Program Types of benefits Benefits package
Kyrgyz Republic: Mandatory Health Insurance Fund (MHIF)
  • Comprehensive

Entitlements of coverage under the MHIF were introduced under the State Guarantee Benefits Package (SGBP). The specifications of the SGBP are the following:

  • Primary care is provided free of charge for the entire population with certain lab and diagnostic tests against copayment.
  • Hospital care is provided against formal copayment.
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Entitlements of coverage under the MHIF were introduced under the State Guarantee Benefits Package (SGBP). The specifications of the SGBP are the following:

  • Primary care is provided free of charge for the entire population with certain lab and diagnostic tests against copayment.
  • Hospital care is provided against formal copayment. Copayment is a flat fee payable upon admission.
  • Exemption categories were designed based on categorical targeting and disease types to protect populations with high expected health care use. Providers receive a higher payment for treating exempt patients to prevent selection bias.
  • An additional outpatient drug benefit was also introduced to subsidize the price of medicines for primary care sensitive conditions in order to reduce unnecessary hospitalizations (e.g., anemia, ulcers, pneumonia, and hypertension).

The Additional Drug Package (ADP) was introduced in 2000 as a way of reinforcing the importance of primary care. It started in seven pharmacies and was slowly rolled out to the entire country by 2003. The ADP is an outpatient drug benefit for those insured with the MHIF, which initially included 37 generic drugs but has expanded since. To purchase drugs through the ADP, the patient pays a discounted price at the pharmacy and the MHIF reimburses the pharmacy for the difference. The subsidy amount is based on a reference price and is approximately 50% of the reference price.

Ghana: National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS)
  • Comprehensive

The basic benefits package is fairly extensive and purports to cover 95% of all health problems reported in Ghanaian health care facilities, though there is a noticeable emphasis on female reproductive health. Expensive, highly specialized care such as dialysis and organ transplants are not covered by the NHIS. ARVs for the treatment of HIV/AIDS are also not covered as these drugs are supplied by a separate government program.

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The basic benefits package is fairly extensive and purports to cover 95% of all health problems reported in Ghanaian health care facilities, though there is a noticeable emphasis on female reproductive health. Expensive, highly specialized care such as dialysis and organ transplants are not covered by the NHIS. ARVs for the treatment of HIV/AIDS are also not covered as these drugs are supplied by a separate government program.

The health services covered by the NHIS are laid out in the minimum basic benefits package. The list also delineates prescribed medicines. Benefits for maternity care include antenatal care, caesarean sections, and postnatal care for up to six months after birth. Treatment for breast and cervical cancer are included in the package, although treatment for other cancers is not.

NHIS Benefits Package

Outpatient services

  • General and specialist consultation services
  • General and specialist diagnostic testing, including laboratory investigation, X-rays, ultrasound scanning
  • Medicines on the NHIS medicines list
  • Surgical operations such as hernia repair
  • Physiotherapy

Inpatient services

  • General and specialist inpatient care
  • Diagnostic tests
  • Medication - prescribed medicines on the NHIS medicines list, blood and blood products
  • Surgical operations
  • Inpatient physiotherapy
  • Accommodation in the general ward
  • Feeding (where available)

Oral health

  • Pain relief (tooth extraction, temporary incision and drainage)
  • Dental restoration (simple amalgam filling, temporary dressing)

Maternity care

  • Antenatal care
  • Deliveries (normal and assisted)
  • Caesarean section
  • Postnatal care

Emergencies

  • Medical emergencies
  • Surgical emergencies
  • Pediatric emergencies
  • Obstetric and gynecological emergencies
  • Road traffic accident

Exclusions list

  • Appliance and prostheses including optical aids, heart aids, orthopedic aids, dentures, etc.
  • Cosmetic surgeries and aesthetic treatment
  • HIV retroviral drugs
  • Assisted reproduction (e.g., artificial insemination) and gynecological hormone replacement therapy
  • Echocardiography
  • Photography and angiography
  • Dialysis for chronic renal failure
  • Organ transplantation
  • All drugs not listed on the NHIS list
  • Heart and brain surgery other than those resulting from accidents
  • Cancer treatment other than breast and cervical
  • Mortuary services
  • Diagnosis and treatment abroad
  • Medical examinations for purposes other than treatment in accredited health facilities
  • VIP ward accommodation
Nigeria: National Health Insurance System
  • Comprehensive

The benefits package for the National Health Insurance Scheme for workers in the formal sector is pre-determined and includes:

  • Out-patient care, including necessary consumables
  • Prescribed drugs, pharmaceutical care and diagnostic tests on the National Essential Drugs List and Diagnostic Test Lists
  • Maternity care for up to 4 live births for every insured contributor
  • Preventive care, including immunization, health education, family planning, antenatal and post-natal care
  • Consultation with specialists with a referral
  • Hospital in-patient care in a standard ward for a 15 cumulative days per year
  • Eye examination and care, excluding the provision of spectacles and contact lenses
  • A range of prostheses (limited to artificial limbs produced in Nigeria)
  • Preventive dental care and pain relief (including consultation, dental health education, amalgam filling, and simple extraction)
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The benefits package for the National Health Insurance Scheme for workers in the formal sector is pre-determined and includes:

  • Out-patient care, including necessary consumables
  • Prescribed drugs, pharmaceutical care and diagnostic tests on the National Essential Drugs List and Diagnostic Test Lists
  • Maternity care for up to 4 live births for every insured contributor
  • Preventive care, including immunization, health education, family planning, antenatal and post-natal care
  • Consultation with specialists with a referral
  • Hospital in-patient care in a standard ward for a 15 cumulative days per year
  • Eye examination and care, excluding the provision of spectacles and contact lenses
  • A range of prostheses (limited to artificial limbs produced in Nigeria)
  • Preventive dental care and pain relief (including consultation, dental health education, amalgam filling, and simple extraction)

Exclusions for the package include:

  • Occupational/industrial injuries
  • High technology investigations, except in life-threatening emergencies
  • Injuries resulting from natural disasters, political conflicts, epidemics and extreme sports
  • Drug abuse/addiction
  • Transplant and cosmetic surgeries

The benefits packages for the informal program of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) are determined by the stakeholders through a process of consensus building. Members determine the benefits package according to local needs.

Philippines: PhilHealth
  • Comprehensive

PhilHealth beneficiaries have access to a nearly comprehensive package of services, including inpatient care, catastrophic coverage, ambulatory surgeries, deliveries, and outpatient treatment for malaria and tuberculosis. Those identified as indigent and OFW are also entitled to outpatient primary care.

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PhilHealth beneficiaries have access to a nearly comprehensive package of services, including inpatient care, catastrophic coverage, ambulatory surgeries, deliveries, and outpatient treatment for malaria and tuberculosis. Those identified as indigent and OFW are also entitled to outpatient primary care.

More specifically, services included range from:

  • Inpatient care: a.) room and board; b.) drugs and medicines; c.) diagnostics and other services; d.) professional fees and; e.) operating room services.
    • These benefits are subject to some limits, which differ based on the level of the health facility/hospital (level 1 to 4 hospitals and the Ambulatory surgical centers equivalent to level 2 hospitals) and the severity of the cause of admission (case-type A, B, C and D)
    • Catastrophic coverage also subject to limits discussed above
  • Ambulatory surgeries including ambulatory dialysis
  • Deliveries
  • Outpatient malaria and TB-DOTS care

Except for the outpatient primary care that the poor and OFW are entitled to via public providers, there is free choice of providers for beneficiaries, both public and private.

Annual or lifetime coverage limits do exist. These limits are expressed in terms of volumes of services (e.g., days) rather than a peso coverage limit. For example, member households are eligible for 45 days of inpatient admission, sharing 45 days among all household members. Each day of ambulatory surgery counts as a day of admission.

While there is no formal system that sets fixed deductibles or co-payments, health care providers are allowed to charge the patient the balance between the total cost of care and what PhilHealth pay (i.e., balance billing).

There are some waiting periods before beneficiaries can access care; waiting periods differ by population category:

  • Formal sector: 3 months
  • Poor: none
  • Retirees: none
  • Non-poor, OFWs, and others not eligible for other three categories: 9 months for elective procedures and deliveries, 3 months for the rest
India: Rajiv Aarogyasri
  • Primarily Inpatient

The Aarogyasri benefits package includes 942 surgical procedures and 144 medical diseases. The system is entirely cashless and there is no deductible or co-payment for seeking care.

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The Aarogyasri benefits package includes 942 surgical procedures and 144 medical diseases. The system is entirely cashless and there is no deductible or co-payment for seeking care.

30 groups of doctors from the Government and corporate hospital sectors were consulted to develop the benefits package for Aarogyasri. Through a series of these consultations, Aarogyasri benefits have been agreed upon to include 389 surgical procedures and 144 medical diseases. A list of all benefits and associated reimbursement to hospitals can be found on the Aarogyasri web site.

There is no deductible or co-payment for seeking care, and because the system is entirely cashless patients are admitted, treated, and discharged without exchanging any money. Immediate pre- and post-operative expenditures are included in package rates to minimize the other financial expenses to the patient.