Health insurance in Uganda

Where the national scheme stands

Parliament passed a National Health Insurance Scheme bill in 2021, but it was not assented to. In June 2025 an IRA director told the Daily Monitor that a revised version was held at Cabinet level and that an Act could come after the 2026 elections. IRA's 2024 market report still presents the scheme as proposed.

Private cover: insurers and HMOs

Medical cover is sold by general insurers and by health membership organisations, which must hold at least UGX 1 billion of capital. The authorised HMO for 2026 is CASE Med Insurance (IRA). Compare:

• Inpatient and outpatient limits per person and per family.
• Waiting periods, maternity cover, chronic and pre-existing conditions.
• The provider network: which hospitals and clinics accept the card.
• Co-payments and what happens at renewal.

Remember the 0.5% training levy on each premium.

Who sells medical insurance in Uganda: 2025 figures

From IRA's Q4 2025 workbook, medical premium for 2025 by type of licence (UGX million):

Each company's figure, and what three of them publish about their plans, is in health insurance companies in Uganda. Plan details from one insurer: Jubilee health insurance. Cover valid abroad: international private medical insurance.

What health insurance costs

No regulator publishes a price for medical insurance in Uganda: IRA's minimum premium rates do not apply to life or medical insurance, so each insurer prices its own plans (IRA study report). The premium depends on the ages of the people covered, the limits, the hospital network and whether outpatient, maternity, dental and optical care are included.

The few prices insurers print themselves are quoted with their source in our Jubilee guide (J-Armor inpatient rider). Ask at least two licensed insurers for quotes on the same limits — or let licensed insurers contact you.

Waiting periods and claims

• Waiting periods are set by each plan. Old Mutual, for example, publishes 30 days for outpatient, dental and optical, and one year for chronic or pre-existing conditions and maternity on its Serenicare plan (quoted in health insurance companies).
• Claim deadlines: under IRA's claims guide an insurer must acknowledge a claim within 3 working days and pay within 10 working days of the signed discharge for amounts up to UGX 10 million (15 days up to UGX 50 million, 20 above).
• A refused claim: ask for the reasons in writing, then use IRA's Complaints Bureau.

Sources

1. IRA Uganda — 2024 Annual Insurance Market Report
2. IRA Uganda — Industry Performance Q4 2025, life and non-life workbook (Summary, Non life, Life and HMO's sheets)
3. IRA Uganda — authorised health membership organisations 2026
4. Daily Monitor, 19 June 2025 — mandatory health insurance could come after 2026
5. IRA Uganda — Effectiveness of minimum premium rates in Uganda's insurance sector, study report (November 2023)
6. IRA Uganda — Guide to Insurance Claims (2025)