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Fee Waivers and Exemptions
Waivers are designed to allow the poor or other specific groups (e.g., the elderly) to obtain free healthcare; exemptions allow all people to receive certain services for free. Of course, fee waivers and exemptions only make sense if health care services are actually available in the area covered by the project. The following points should be kept in mind when designing and implementing successful waivers and exemption programs (for more information see Waivers and Exemptions for Health Services in Developing Countries):
- Make sure that Government is willing and able to provide adequate and prompt financial compensation to health care providers who allow patients to use waivers and exemptions.
- Keep eligibility criteria simple and clear and make sure that health care providers can easily verify them during patient visits, without causing the patient shame or stigma.
- Keep in mind that there are other out-of pocket costs to accessing health care, such as transport, food, lodging and lost income from work. Consider reimbursing these costs.
- If eligibility is based upon household income, make sure that these income thresholds are adjusted annually to account for the impact of inflation.
- Disseminate the existence of waivers and exemptions so that the targeted beneficiaries are aware that they are eligible for free or subsidized care.
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