The Nation Newspaper

Tag: health insurance scheme

  • Lagos contributes 75% to workers’ health insurance scheme, says Ambode

    Lagos State Government has contributed 75 per cent to Health Insurance Scheme provided for its workers, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has said.

    Ambode, who spoke while enumerating his achievements in the past three years, said the workers in turn contributed only 25 per cent to the Scheme.

    The governor, represented by the Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr Akintola Benson, said he approved the request of Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) on the contributory ratio of 25: 75 as against 40:60 earlier proposed by the government.

    He said: “With this approval, the workers will contribute 25 per cent towards the scheme while 75 per cent will be borne by the state government.

    “The Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions, amongst other duties, is saddled with maintaining industrial peace within the Public Service. The Industrial Relations Department in the Office of Establishments and Training’s main obligation is to support the government and its workforce in creating a safe, conflict-free and productive workplace by providing strategic and expert advice and counsel on industrial relations.

    “The JNC is a statutory meeting between the government and the Unions in the state Public Service and it holds twice in a year. The meeting provides a forum for interaction between the government officials and all the Industrial Unions operating in the state Public Service to address and decide for implementation, issues pertaining to the welfare of the staff as well as to promote industrial harmony in the service.

    “There are 17 unions in the state public service, which formed the National Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) are Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), Agriculture and Allied Employees Union of Nigeria (AAEUN); Non – Academic Staff Union of Education (NASU); Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU); Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT); Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria (M&HWUN), among others.

    ‘’Some of the issues successfully resolved included replacement of promotion examination with structural training; health insurance scheme contribution ratio of 25: 75 by the employees and government; provision of 12 utility vehicles to 12 unions in JNC; yearly retreat for the union leaders; first batch of international training for the union leaders; and allocation/conversion of part of the public service plaza under construction as office space for JNC.’’

  • Lagos begins Health Insurance Scheme in November

    The Lagos State Government   has said the much awaited State Health Insurance Scheme (LSHS) will begin in November.

    Commissioner for Health Dr. Jide Idris stated this  at the 2017 Ministerial press briefing of the Ministry of Health to commemorate second year in office of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration in Lagos State.

    Idris said a core implementation team comprising relevant technical persons, stakeholders, private sector and donor community was set up  to draw up a blueprint that will facilitate the effective roll-out of the scheme.

    “An actuarial study was conducted to serve as an objective basis to inform decisions on the design of benefit structures, reimbursement standards and the effects of proposed government standards on the cost of healthcare for the scheme”, the Commissioner stated.

    Idris said the operational guidelines for the scheme to provide a framework to guide the operations of the Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA); the agency established to manage the scheme, have already been concluded.

    He added that the premium cost for the scheme has been determined and fixed, stressing that the fixed cost is lower than the actuarially determined cost to make it affordable for residents.

    The Commissioner also disclosed that the appointment of the General Manager of LASHMA has been concluded, adding that the engagement of a consultant to mid-wife the selection process for the agency’s management team is at the final stage.

    He stated that the business process manual (BPM) which gives details of how the day-to-day activities of the organisation would be executed has been concluded for use by LASHMA.

    The commissioner noted that the soft launch of the scheme will start in June, with the commencement of mass sensitisation of all strata of Lagos residents and social marketing involving sustained multi-pronged consumer engagement, adding that focus will be on actively and creatively, engaging the informal sector on whose buy-in the success of the scheme is largely dependent.

    He said: “Advocacy sessions with active engagement of relevant stakeholders critical to the success of the scheme have also commenced and are on-going. A robust advocacy and social marketing campaign has also been designed to facilitate the awareness and buy-in of citizens is to be rolled-out in June”.

    Idris explained that the active engagement of the informal sector critical to the sustainability of the scheme is considered a priority, stressing that a strategy for engagement of the informal has been initiated with the support of Ministries, Departments and Agencies interfacing the informal sector on various fronts.

    Idris while stating that the state government will finalise the details of the Provider Payment System (PPS) of the scheme with the relevant stakeholders like health insurance agents and providers, noted that the ICT platform for the scheme will also be finalised and tested towards the complete roll-out of the scheme in November this year.

    “Looking back, I can confidently say that during this period the state health sector has made great progress; more than four million people had access to our facilities and more than 80,000 have been seen at the on-going medical mission for the treatment of common ailments at the grass roots. There is also a renewed vigor to kick start the Lagos State Health Insurance Scheme to improve access to healthcare services”, the Commissioner said.

  • Nasarawa raises committee toward establishment of Health Insurance Scheme

    The Nasarawa State Government has constituted a technical committee to work out modalities for the establishment of a state Health Insurance Scheme.

    The state Deputy Governor, Silas Agara, while inaugurating the committee on Friday in Lafia, said the scheme would facilitate access to quality and affordable healthcare service delivery in the state.

    He said the initiative would help the state to achieve universal health coverage and provide employment opportunities for the people.

    Agara urged members of the committee to deploy their wealth of experience on the assignment to give the state the best.

    He also urged the committee to initiate a bill at the state House of Assembly within the next three weeks for consideration by the legislature.

    He pointed out that adequate provision had been made in the 2017 budget for the state Health Insurance Scheme.

    The state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr Daniel Iya, said health insurance was sure way of accessing affordable and quality healthcare services.

    Iya explained that the system was designed in such a way that beneficiaries would have a little percentage of their salaries deducted monthly for them to access health services when the need arose.

    He, therefore, called for understanding and support of citizens toward the success of the scheme, when approved by the state assembly.

     

  • Health insurance scheme attendance hits 600,000

    No fewer than 87,000 people have enrolled in the Kwara State Community Health Insurance Scheme, the  Commissioner for Health, Abdul K. Isah, has said.

    He put general clinic attendance  at 600,000, adding: “Out of these figures, deliveries are about 6,000 while five per cent was done through caesarian section.”

    The commissioner spoke in Ilorin, the state capital, during a meeting with a health team from  Ogun State.

    The  team led by Ogun State Health Commissioner, Dr Olaokun Soyinka was on a study tour of the Kwara State community health insurance scheme.

    Isah said: “Today, the state is ranking as the first in community health in the country because of the progress we have been able to achieve since we started in 2007. Between 2007 and now, we have been able to move across 10 of our 16 Local Government Areas (LGAs). We have also been able to cover the three senatorial districts of the state.

    “The beauty of this is that we now use our community health insurance to take out the other areas through which the government is participating in maternal and child mortality reduction.

    When you look at the clinical attendance in the last years, you will see that the indices should naturally be going up, not to talk of the fact that within the last three years of this government we have been able to shore up our human resources for health. Currently, we have about 25 consultants working with us.

    “We have partners that are supporting us. We initially started with the Dutch Government taking responsibility for the larger part of funding as the scheme is more or less free for our people.”

    Speaking on the process of eligibility, he said: “You only need to pay N500 and then you have access to quality healthcare for the whole year including drugs, surgery etc.  Later as we started scaling up they started doing larger while we were doing lower percentage. We are at the current stage of doing the larger while they will do the lower percentage. We are gradually migrating to when the state will pay 100 percent. This is not only in terms of resources but government’s commitment.

    “It is the funding aspect that is the most challenging because of the fact that our federal allocation accruals have shrunk abysmally. We are currently the first from the bottom in terms of Federal Government’s monthly allocations to states.

    “I don’t think your state will have much challenges moving the scheme forward as soon as it takes off.”

    Earlier Dr Soyinka expressed optimism that the visit would be beneficial to his state, saying that

    “we are on a study tour of the Kwara state Community Health Insurance Scheme and we do hope at the end of the day that we will have something to take back to our dear state. our purpose here is to learn about your operations.”

  • Oyo floats health insurance scheme for Okada riders

    Oyo floats health insurance scheme for Okada riders

    Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has announced the introduction of a contributory health insurance scheme for commercial motorcycle riders in the state.

    He made the announcement on Thursday at the distribution of crash helmets to members of the state chapter of the Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle Owners and Riders Association of Nigeria (ACOMORAN) at the Governor’s Office, Ibadan.

    The governor said the introduction of the health insurance scheme to Okada riders was in line with his administration’s commitment to the provision of quality health to the people of the state.

    Ajimobi explained that government would contribute 50 per cent of the medical bill to be paid by any member of the association, including surgical operations and drugs.

    He also reiterated his administration’s resolve not to ban the activities of Okada riders in the state, adding that government would not deny anybody of his means of livelihood.

    He said that the donation of the 2,500 crash helmets would go a long way in preventing accidents among Okada riders in the course of their duties.

    In his remarks, the Executive Director, IBTC Pension Managers, Mr. Eric Fajemisin said the donation of the crash helmets by his organization was in line with the existing partnership with the state government to contribute to the socio-economic development of the state as part of its corporate social responsibility

  • TUC seeks health insurance scheme

    The Secretary-General of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Comrade Musa Lawal, has called on the Federal Government to adhere to the policy of International Best Practices (IBP) as the only workable option to the implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in the country.

    He said less than six per cent of the nation’s population is benefiting from the Scheme.

    Musa, who made the call while presenting a paper on ‘Financial Risk Protection: Option for the Private Sector – A Political Economy Approach or Working Class Approach’ during the Presidential Summit on Universal Health Coverage in Abuja, said the lesson learnt from the implementation of NHIS is that the scheme has respond to crisis in the health sector, but has not succeeded due mainly to its  limitation to the formal sector and does not cover most terminal ailments.

    He said: “The way forward for a workable option to the implementation of NHIS, is adopting the IBP that would embrace the most popular of private/public financial protection for health scheme that would be implemented through contributions from both employers and employees on monthly basis as a percentage of income in the country.

    He said the Value Added Tax Funding System (VATFS), as the most effective concept of determinant of health data, should be effectively used as there is pressure on health facilities in most urban centers where the value added tax product is mostly consumed.

    He said VAT that covers financial protection, could give wide spread coverage to health cases as the most effective covering both for the informal and formal sector, adding that health systems require direct, out-of-pocket, payments from people at the time they need care.

    His words: “In Nigeria the challenges associated with direct, out-of-pocket expenses have prevented hundreds of millions from accessing services and  as result, falls into financial hardship, even impoverishment, for millions more.

    “Here in Nigeria, the impact of reducing the reliance on direct, out-of-pocket payments will to some extent, lower the financial barriers to access and reduce the impoverishing impact of health payments.

    “The workable option therefore is for the government to introduce policies that would  reduce fragmentation and increase the redistribution capacity of the pooled funds to cover the healthcare costs for those in need, as key element of the broad strategy that we need to rely on in order to move towards national health service delivery coverage,” he said.