Kathmandu— The government has allocated 3 billion NPR to settle the outstanding health insurance payments for both public and private hospitals. The Ministry of Finance disbursed this amount to the Health Insurance Board last Friday, according to sources from the Ministry of Finance.

This additional budget was released after the 7.5 billion NPR allocated for the current fiscal year proved insufficient. Upon receipt of this amount, the board will begin making overdue payments. Specifically, the amount is being released as part of an agreement to pay residential doctors studying at private medical colleges an allowance equivalent to the eighth-grade level of the government, which is NPR 48,737.

The government expects to pay the designated 48,000 NPR to residential doctors on time after the long-awaited insurance payment is made. The government has recently resolved an ongoing protest that had lasted nearly a month. Private medical colleges have agreed to provide the payment. On behalf of the protesting group, the Nepal Medical Association has reached a four-point agreement with the Ministry of Health for the implementation of this arrangement.