The Institution of the Ombudsman has exposed a discriminatory practice in which some health facilities deny medicine to community-based health insurance (CBHI) beneficiaries while simultaneously selling the same supplies to patients paying in cash.
In an 11-month performance report presented to the House of People’s Representatives today the Ombudsman highlighted that although members of the community health insurance scheme are legally entitled to receive medication free of charge from contracted facilities, they continue to face severe harassment and administrative injustice.
The report emphasized that by claiming "no medicine is available" to insurance beneficiaries while stocking the same items for cash-paying patients, these facilities are fundamentally undermining the objectives of the health insurance system and violating the rights of citizens.
The Ombudsman further noted that even though formal grievance procedures exist within these institutions, a lack of transparent operational guidelines has made it nearly impossible for patients to seek recourse.
Citing the insufficient supply and improper distribution of medicine, the Ombudsman urged health facilities to immediately rectify these operational gaps to ensure that insurance beneficiaries receive the care they were promised.
Beyond the healthcare sector, the 14-page report also unveiled a "systemic" investigation into how authorities handle land acquisition for public development projects and the subsequent payment of compensation to displaced residents.
According to the findings, the process frequently bypasses legal safeguards. Residents are often forcibly evicted without receiving prior notification which is mandated to be at least one year in advance and without being adequately informed of the project’s purpose or scope.
Furthermore, the report revealed that assets are often seized without being properly measured or valued, leading to situations where fair compensation remains unpaid for years.
While the Ombudsman did not specify the exact locations or timing of these violations, it stated that such practices blatantly contradict the national proclamation governing land acquisition, compensation, and the resettlement of displaced persons. The report noted that many property owners are being pushed into a cycle of filing endless petitions with various government offices just to have their basic rights honored.
Over the past 11 months, the Institution of the Ombudsman has received 1,715 petitions representing more than 44,900 individuals. Concluding the session, the institution demanded that relevant authorities take immediate corrective action to address the systemic failures in both the health and development sectors, which it warned are actively disenfranchising the public.
