Job offer: Individual Consultant To Develop a Framework for The Evaluation of The Voluntary Social Health Insurance Scheme of The Nssf

The Royal Government of Cambodia's 7th legislature of the National Assembly has prioritized progressing towards universal health coverage. This commitment is reflected in key national strategic documents and policies, including the Rectangular Strategy Phase 4, the Pentagon Strategy Phase I, the National Strategic Development Plan 2019-2023, the Health Strategic Plans for 2008-2015 and 2016-2020, the National Social Protection Policy Framework, and with the launch of the “Roadmap for Universal Health Coverage in Cambodia 2024-2035” in May 2024. Achieving UHC is a significant policy goal for the Royal Government of Cambodia, necessitating innovation in both public and private health sectors, institutional development among the public operators, and significant collaboration across the government.

The Cambodian public healthcare system has two main pillars, the Health Equity Fund, and the National Social Security Fund (NSSF). Within the contributory pillar, two main groups are legally covered by the social health protection through the NSSF, namely the employees of the public and private sector.

Public officials, former civil servants, and veterans have had access to the medical services since early 2018. As of December 2023, approximately 400 thousand civil servants and veterans actively contribute to this scheme. Workers under the Labour Law are entitled to medical services and non-medical benefits. As of December 2023, around 1.5 million employees actively contribute to this scheme. Medical services for both groups are available at all public and private health facilities that have agreements with NSSF.

Objective

The objective of this assignment is to prepare an evaluation framework needed for the policy, process, and actuarial evaluations of the voluntary healthcare scheme for self-employed workers and dependents of NSSF members. This evaluation framework will provide the basis for the comprehensive evaluation of the voluntary healthcare scheme which will be conducted as a follow-up intervention. The consultant is NOT expected to conduct the evaluation through this assignement. The evaluation of the scheme is intended to support both policy, parametric and process reforms to support the implementation of UHC in Cambodia.

Scope of work

The framework concerns the policy design, process, and the actuarial valuation of the scheme. The consultant is expected to map relevant evaluation questions and specify the data needs, including data sources, collection methods, and possible analysis techniques.

The objective of the process evaluation framework is to understand how well the scheme is working, the extent to which the programme is being implemented as designed, and the factors (if any) which are moderating the delivery of the programme. The process evaluation framework is expected to define the indicators needed to provide insights on the implementation processes and how they can be improved, and if (any) scheme’s failures or slowdowns are the result of design flaws or delivery gaps.

The objective of the policy design evaluation framework is to provide key questions on the adequacy of the parameters, eligibility conditions, benefit provisions, target group definition, and other relevant dimension to understand whether the policy meets the needs, capacity, and objectives of the target population and the NSSF, and the extent to which the programme is being implemented as designed.