Compare: Institutional structure

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 Key Actors in Insurance Administration Organizational Structure Collections Responsibility Operations Responsibility Oversight Responsibility Institutional structures
Indonesia: Jamkesmas
  • Central Government
  • District/Local Government
  • Commercial insurers
  • Decentralized to district/local level
  • District/Local Government
  • Central Government
  • District/Local Government
  • Central Government

Presently, five main actors are involved in the administration of the Jamkesmas scheme (1) the National Social Security Council (DJSN), (2) national government agencies, including Depkes (MoH), the Ministry of Finance (MoF), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), Ministry of Social Affairs (Menkokesra), and the Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas), (3) provincial and district governments, (4) public and private providers of care, and (5) the insurer/third-party administrator.

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Presently, five main actors are involved in the administration of the Jamkesmas scheme (1) the National Social Security Council (DJSN), (2) national government agencies, including Depkes (MoH), the Ministry of Finance (MoF), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), Ministry of Social Affairs (Menkokesra), and the Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas), (3) provincial and district governments, (4) public and private providers of care, and (5) the insurer/third-party administrator.

A revised institutional structure of Indonesia’s Jamkesmas scheme is currently being developed. The table below summarizes the roles and responsibilities of all of the organizations involved in implementing national health insurance, including Jamkesmas:

National Soc Sec Council (DJSN)National government agencies (MoH, MoF, MoHA, Menkokesra, Bappenas)Provincial and district governmentsProviders of careInsurer/TPA (Askes/ Jamsostek)
Oversight of schemeX (LR)X (SR)
Financing schemeXX
Setting parameters (benefits package, definitions of poor, etc.)X (LR)X (SR)
Accreditation/Empanelment of providersXX
EnrollmentXXX
Financial management/planningX (LR)X (SR)
Actuarial analysisX (LR)
Setting rate schedules for services/reimbursement ratesX (LR)X (SR)
Claims processing and paymentX (Under Review)XX (District level)
Outreach, Marketing to beneficiaries X
Service deliveryX
Developing clinical information system for monitoring/evalX (LR)X (SR)
Monitoring local-level utilization and other patient informationX (LR) X (SR)
Monitoring national aggregate informationX (LR)
Customer serviceXX

LR = long run; SR = short run

Note that the Ministry of Finance has an office overseeing insurance programs and carriers of all types. They also have actuarial capacity available when required.

Rwanda: Mutuelles de Sante
  • Central Government
  • District/Local Government
  • Decentralized to district/local level
  • Mutuelles
  • District/Local Government
  • Mutuelles
  • Central Government
  • District/Local Government

The health system is organized on a 3-tier pyramid system composed of central, district, and sector levels. The central government is managed by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and is responsible for the stewardship of the Mutuelles program, focusing on policy development, capacity building, monitoring and evaluation of operational programs, and resource mobilization. The central level monitors and coordinates technical and logistic support and training at the district and sector levels. The central level is also in charge of the payment to national tertiary care hospitals.

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The health system is organized on a 3-tier pyramid system composed of central, district, and sector levels. The central government is managed by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and is responsible for the stewardship of the Mutuelles program, focusing on policy development, capacity building, monitoring and evaluation of operational programs, and resource mobilization. The central level monitors and coordinates technical and logistic support and training at the district and sector levels. The central level is also in charge of the payment to national tertiary care hospitals.

The district level is composed of about 5 sectors, with roughly 250,000-500,000 people each (Rwanda has 30 districts in total), and at least one hospital and secondary care facility. A board of directors governs the district Mutuelle and a permanent salaried agent conduct audits and overviews. At the district level, the Mutuelle Fund manages member premium subsidies and disburses funds to the appropriate district and sector level facilities based on need and service utilization. Districts guide and facilitate the administrative, logistical, technical, and political supervision, training, and management of the sector level Mutuelles. The district level is also responsible for contractual relations with the district hospital, hospital reimbursement, and quality-of-care supervision at the district hospital levels.

The sector-level includes roughly 50,000 people, with at least one health center for primary care. Each sector has a Mutuelle that is managed by community elected officials. At the sector level, Mutuelles are owned and privately managed by their members. Sector level Mutuelle organizations adopt a Constitution and By-laws, through which they define the organizational structure, roles and functions of management, and election of organizational leaders. These leaders then determine benefit packages, annual premiums and periodicity of the subscriptions, establish conventions on care and health services, service providers and reimbursement. In addition, these sector-level Mutuelles are responsible for recruitment of members and membership collections, as well as monitoring and evaluation of local health and reimbursing health centers.

In 2009 the government created the Rwanda Social Security Board which merges Rwanda Health Insurance Scheme (RAMA) and Military Medical Insurance (MMI) with the Society Security Fund with the objective of improving performance and decision-making.

Reformed Rwandan Health System

Philippines: PhilHealth
  • Central Government
  • Centralized
  • Central Government
  • Central Government
  • Central Government

The scheme is entirely administered by PhilHealth, a government corporation attached to the Department of Health. PhilHealth collects premiums, accredits providers, sets the benefits packages and provider payment mechanisms, processes claims, and reimburses providers for their services.

PhilHealth is responsible for oversight and administration of public sector insurance schemes.

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The scheme is entirely administered by PhilHealth, a government corporation attached to the Department of Health. PhilHealth collects premiums, accredits providers, sets the benefits packages and provider payment mechanisms, processes claims, and reimburses providers for their services.

PhilHealth is responsible for oversight and administration of public sector insurance schemes. It has a governing board chaired by the Secretary of Health with representation from other government departments (ministries) and agencies, and the private sector including the OFW sector.

PhilHealth also features a governing board composed of 13 individuals, chaired by the Secretary of Health, with the president and CEO of Philhealth as vice-chariman. The president and CEO have a fixed term of 6 years.

Salaries and other operating expenses are derived from premium payments and the income of the funds under management. PhilHealth can use up to 12% of the previous year’s premium and 3% of the income of the fund it manages towards operating expenses.

For monitoring and evaluation, Congress has mandated the National Institutes of Health (based in the University of the Philippines) to conduct studies that will verify and validate the performance of PhilHealth.

India: Rajiv Aarogyasri
  • Centralized
  • State Government
  • State Government
  • Commercial insurers
  • State Government

Aarogyasri is managed by the Aarogyasri Healthcare Trust, a body that is responsible for overseeing the entire insurance program, including certain administrative functions such as setting benefits packages and pricing, managing contracts with insurer(s) and in-network providers, approving claims and monitoring of the scheme.

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Aarogyasri is managed by the Aarogyasri Healthcare Trust, a body that is responsible for overseeing the entire insurance program, including certain administrative functions such as setting benefits packages and pricing, managing contracts with insurer(s) and in-network providers, approving claims and monitoring of the scheme.

The administrative structure of Aarogyasri is comprised of four main organizations:

  • Aarogyasri Healthcare Trust: The Trust is responsible for oversight of the entire insurance program as well as some important administrative functions such as setting benefits and pricing, managing contracts with insurer(s) and in-network providers, approving claims, and monitoring.
  • Insurer: The insurer is selected based on a competitive bidding process to bear risk and manage all back-end insurance administration, including claims processing, reimbursements to providers, oversight of hospitals. The Insurer is also responsible for holding health camps in villages to screen, diagnose, treat, and make beneficiaries aware of any health problems they might have; health camps are also used to enroll eligible beneficiaries.
  • Network hospitals: Network hospitals provide care to Aarogyasri beneficiaries.
  • Aarogya Mithras: Aarogya Mithras are patient advocates and assist Aarogyasri beneficiaries to navigate through the system and ensure beneficiaries receive quality care. Aarogya Mithras are also responsible for community outreach.

The table below summarizes the roles and responsibilities of all of the organizations involved in operationalizing Aarogyasri:

Aarogyasri TrustInsurerNetwork HospitalsAarogya Mithras
Oversight of schemeX
Financing schemeX
Setting parameters (benefits package, empanelment criteria, etc.)XX
Hardware specifications (e.g, systems, card, etc.)XX
Contract management with InsurerX
Accreditation/Empanelment of providersXX
EnrollmentXXX
Financial management/planningX
Actuarial analysisXX
Setting rate schedules for services/reimbursement rates X
Claims processing and paymentXX
Outreach, Marketing to beneficiariesXXX
Service deliveryX
Developing clinical information system for monitoring/evalX X
Monitoring utilization and other patient informationXX
Customer serviceXXX
India: RSBY
  • Central Government
  • State Government
  • Commercial insurers
  • NGOs
  • Decentralized to state level
  • State Government
  • Commercial insurers
  • Commercial insurers
  • Central Government
  • State Government

Several stakeholders are involved in the oversight and execution of RSBY at both the national and state levels. A key actor in the administration of the scheme is the insurer. The insurer must cover the benefit package designed by the central MoLE through a cashless facility. Additionally, it acts as an intermediary between RSBY and local organizations in order to provide grassroots outreach and assist members in utilizing the services after enrollment.

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Several stakeholders are involved in the oversight and execution of RSBY at both the national and state levels. A key actor in the administration of the scheme is the insurer. The insurer must cover the benefit package designed by the central MoLE through a cashless facility. Additionally, it acts as an intermediary between RSBY and local organizations in order to provide grassroots outreach and assist members in utilizing the services after enrollment.

Once a state has agreed to implement RSBY, a nodal department is selected by the State. The nodal department designate sets up a nodal agency which is responsible for implementing RSBY. The nodal agency seeks bids from registered public or private insurance companies. The financial bid is essentially an annual premium per enrolled household.

Technically qualified insurer(s) with the lowest bid is/are selected as the state’s RSBY insurer. A state can seek bids from multiple insurers for various districts. Selected insurers are compensated on the basis of the number of SmartCards issued (i.e. households covered). Each contract is specified on the basis of an individual district in a state, with the insurer agreeing to set up an office in each district where it operates. While more than one insurer can operate in a particular state, only one insurer can operate in a single district at any given point in time.

The use of a cashless facility in turn requires the use of SmartCards which must be issued to all members. This requires that a sub-contract be arranged with a qualified Third Party Administrator/SmartCard provider. The insurer must also agree to engage intermediaries with local presence (e.g., NGOs) in order to provide grassroots outreach and assist members in utilizing the services after enrollment. The insurer must also build a list of empanelled hospitals that will participate in the cashless arrangement. These hospitals must meet certain basic minimum requirements (e.g., size and registration) and must agree to set up a special RSBY desk with SmartCard and fingerprint readers and train the hospital staff. The list should include public and private hospitals.

The insurer must also establish a separate Project Office for implementing the scheme and coordinating activities with the state nodal agency in the state capital. The insurer will have appropriate people in their own/TPA, state, and district offices to perform the following functions:

  • Operate a 24-hour toll free call center
  • Manage district kiosks for post issuance modifications to SmartCards
  • Management info system functions, including collecting, collating, and reporting data on a real time basis
  • Generating reports, in predefined format, at periodic intervals, as decided between insurer and state nodal agency
  • IT related functions which include running the local website/updating data regularly
  • Pre-authorization function for non-package surgical interventions
  • Claims settlement
  • Organizing Health camps
  • Publicity for enrollment and post-enrollment
  • Grievance and dispute resolution
  • Feedback functions

As of January 2010, eleven public and private insurance companies were engaged in insuring RSBY beneficiaries across 23 states.

Since in the initial phases of RSBY, the focus was on stabilizing processes and operations, insurer contracts were set for one year. Now that processes and basic operations have been ironed out and stabilized, the contract period has been extended to a maximum period of three years. However, even three year contracts are subject to annual renewal based on insurer performance, with annual performance goals defined by the government at the time of initial contract signing.

The table below summarizes the roles and responsibilities of all organizations involved in operationalizing RSBY at the state and national level:

Central GovtState Nodal AgencyInsurer/TPANGOs/Other PartnersProviders of Care
Oversight of schemeXX
Financing schemeXX
Setting parameters (benefits package, empanelment criteria, BPL criteria, etc.)XX
Hardware specifications (e.g, systems, SmartCard, etc.)X
Contract management with InsurerX
Accreditation/Empanelment of providers X
Collecting Registration FeesX
EnrollmentXXX
Financial management/planningXX
Actuarial analysisX
Setting rate schedules for services/reimbursement ratesXX
Claims processing and paymentX
Outreach, Marketing to beneficiariesXXX
Service deliveryX
Developing clinical information system for monitoring/evalXX
Monitoring state-level utilization and other patient informationXXX
Monitoring national RSBY informationX
Customer serviceX X X
TrainingXXX
Mexico: Seguro Popular
  • Central Government
  • State Government
  • Decentralized to state level
  • State Government
  • State Government
  • Central Government

Mexico’s health system is guided by the federal government but operations are decentralized to the state level. Family premiums as well as federal transfers are collected at the state level. The states are also responsible for the provision of health services. Health system oversight is carried out at the national level by the MOH.

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Mexico’s health system is guided by the federal government but operations are decentralized to the state level. Family premiums as well as federal transfers are collected at the state level. The states are also responsible for the provision of health services. Health system oversight is carried out at the national level by the MOH.

The function of the Social Protection in Health Regimes (REPSS) at the state level is to integrate and coordinate the network of health care providers in order to guarantee that SP enrollees have access to the services offered under the benefits package. The mechanisms used to control the network of providers are subscription agreements and contracts with public, private, and civil society institutions.

The General Health Committee, which is chaired by the Health Minister, includes the leaders of all the public health institutions in Mexico as well as experts in the field, non-governmental organizations, professional associations and the private sector. This Committee is responsible for defining the diseases, treatments, and medications that are covered under the FPGC.

  Organization of the System of Social Protection in Health