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Tag: Health Insurance

  • Oyo approves compulsory health insurance for workers, others

    The Oyo State Executive Council (Exco) has made the enrolment for its health insurance compulsory for civil and public servants.

    It said the decision is in line with the provision of Section 16, sub-section 1 of the Oyo State Health Insurance Agency (OYSHIA) Law of 2016.

    The Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Toye Arulogun, broke the news yesterday in Ibadan, the state capital.

    He said Levels 1 to 12 would be on Standard Plan with N8,000 annual premium, inclusive of N200 registration/service.

    The commissioner said civil servants from Levels 13 and above will be on Standard Plus Plan of N13,500 annual premium.

    Arulogun said the Exco also approved the compulsory enrolment of students in state-owned institutions on Students Plan with a subsidised premium of N2,800 per annum.

    The commissioner said the state government will also demand certificates of health insurance or evidence of same from individuals, groups, companies or institutions that intend to do businesses with the state.

    He added that such businesses would include but not limited to registration of hospitals and allied institutions, schools and allied institutions, premises and companies, vehicles and all forms of procurement and supplies, renewal of certificates and licences, application for certificates of occupancy, rents and allied applications.

    According to him, a health insurance certificate shall also be part of pre-requisite to access loan or similar funds from Bureau of Investment by individuals and cooperatives societies.

    Arulogun said: “The payable premium by the enrolees, public and civil servants in the services of the state and local governments as well as students in the state tertiary institutions will be directly deducted by the Ministry of Finance and other relevant institutions, as the case may be, for direct remittance into the account of the agency on monthly basis, as stipulated in Section 19 (4) and 36 (1) of OYSHIA Law 2016.”

    He added that the health insurance scheme is meant to alleviate poverty through significant reduction in “out-of-pocket” expenditure on health by the residents and making quality healthcare affordable and accessible to every resident.

    The commissioner said the OYSHIA had got medical equipment worth N74,129,800, which would be used at accredited.

    Arulogun said drugs and consumables have also been supplied to 42 OYSHIA accredited public facilities (both primary health centres (PHCs) and state/general hospitals.

    The commissioner said 21 private facilities were also accredited to participate in the scheme, adding that there is an ongoing renovation of accredited PHCs at no financial cost to the government.

    He said this demonstrated that health insurance would ultimately reduce government expenditure on health and fast-track the development of the Health sector.

     

     

  • Lagosians urged to embrace health insurance scheme

    Lagosians urged to embrace health insurance scheme

    The Lagos State Government has called on members of the public to embrace the proposed Lagos State Health Insurance Scheme.

    The Medical Director of Alimosho General Hospital, Dr. Madewa Adebajo, said the scheme is geared towards provision of excellent health service delivery to the populace.

    He spoke during the celebration of some of the hospital’s retirees.

    According to him, the initiative would not only assist in reducing the rate of avoidable deaths, and deaths arising from negligence but, would also help residents pay adequate attention to their health challenges and how the health challenges can be managed.

    He said the scheme has been designed to suit all the social class of the society and all levels of income earners.

    “Lagosians would be making informed-decision if they key into the vision of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration in the health sector. The health scheme is cheaper compared to the cost of accessing good health care services or with what is currently obtainable in all healthcare establishments across the country.

    “In the scheme, you can choose the health service of your choice. The whole idea is about saving for the rainy day, so that is anything happens, you would not have to withdraw from your bank account to offset your medical bills at that point in time,” he said.

    He added that the rate at which the state government is embarking on massive infrastructural development, deployment of health facilities and massive employment of staff in the state health sector further attested to the determination of government to ensure there is effective healthcare delivery across the state.

    He pleaded with employees of the State Government to cooperate with government in its drive to make the health sector a credible health institution in the country and internationally.

  • Fund health insurance with call tariff, FG told

    The federal government has been advised to use call tariff to fund National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) for Nigeria to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

    A former Executive Secretary of the scheme, Dr. Dogo Mohammed, argued that deducting one kobo from airtime of telecoms subscribers would go a long way to make funds available to cover the vulnerable and those below poverty lines.

    Mohammed spoke at a workshop by the Global Alliance for Universal Health Coverage in Africa.

    He said: “I realised that we all have phones and we are addicted to phones. We buy airtime upfront and when GSM came in, we were being charged a huge amount of money per minute.

    “Even when you spend a second on the phone, money would be deducted as if you had spent a whole minute.

    “Then it changed to per second billing and it kept reducing from 40k to 30k and then 20k. So, instead of making it 20k, let the cost be 21k or instead of making it 10k, let it be 11k per second. Let that extra one kobo be used for health.

    “Let’s assume every Nigerian spends 10 minutes making phone calls a day. That would translate to N6 going to the health fund a day.

    “Today the number of active telephone lines is 150 million and if everybody can contribute N6 a day, that will translate to N900m a day and nobody would feel it.”

    He added: “In a month it would translate to N27bn and in a year, it would translate to N324bn. This is enough to offset all our health bills.

    “And we are saying universal coverage but before there can be universal coverage, there must be a universal contribution.

    “It is easy, sustainable and guarantees everyone free health.”

  • Fed Govt endorses health insurance for Nollywood

    as a result of death of Nollywood actors from chronic diseases, the Federal Government has endorsed a Healthcare and Life Insurance Scheme for Nollywood practitioners.

    At the recent launch of the Nolly Health Insurance which comprised Life Insurance and Pension scheme, the Managing Director, Nigerian Film Corporation, Dr Chidia Maduekwe, commended the initiative.

    “On behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the launch of the unified Health/Life Insurance and Pension Scheme (LIPS) is a thing of joy and it gladdens my heart to be associated with it,” said Maduekwe.

    The Lagos State’s Acting Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs Adebimpe Akinsola, also said the scheme was long overdue in view of the health challenges which had claimed many lives in the industry due to lack of fund for medicare and commended the leadership of the movies and creative industry for the laudable programme.

    Speaking, the managing director, Nigerian Guild of Actors, Fred Amata, charged participants to take advantage of unity of purpose to ensure the success of the scheme, as it has potentials to ensure well-being of the practitioners in the industry.

    Dr Olasimbo Davidson, the managing director of Pinewood Medicare, a preferred provider of health insurance, lamented that only two per cent of Nigeria’s population could afford pre-paid health coverage.

  • Leadway, Pensure, others partner Nollywood on health insurance

    Leadway Assurance Company Limited, Leadway Pensure PFA and Pinewood Medicare have signed an agreement with 13 affiliates of Nollywood on an insurance scheme, tagged NollyHealth Insured, for their members, its Executive Director, Ms. Adetola Adegbayi, has said.

    In a statement in Lagos, Adegbayi said the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on July 13 at the NAN’s Media Centre, National Theatre Complex at Iganmu, Lagos.

    According to her, under the partnership, members in the creative industry, including the Association of Motion Picture Entertainment Editors of Nigeria (AMPEEN); Creative Designers’ Guild of Nigeria (CDGN); Cinematographers’ Society of Nigeria (CSN); Directors Guild of Nigeria (DGN); Film & Video Producers’ and Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (FVPMAN); and Independent Television Producers Association (ITPAN).

    Other members are Motion Picture Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MOPPAN); National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP); Screenwriters’ Guild of Nigeria (SWGN); Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Producers Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN) and United Movie Practitioners’ Association of Nigeria (UMPAN).

    He said mebers of the association would enjoy a unified general insurance, healthcare, pension coverage and other benefits.

    She added: “Leadway Assurance will provide a life/general insurance policy for practitioners covering the following: Group Personal Accident Insurance, which provides compensation to members/affiliates of the group in the event of accidental bodily injury to the insured person(s) that may result to death or disablement; Group life cover for the beneficiary of a member who passes away while in Service and Business Protection Insurance (Creative Art Production Insurance) under which is  Cast & Crew Insurance, Fire & Burglary on Directors & Crew’s Personal Property, Miscellaneous Equipment (all risks), public liability insurance and theft or loss of money on a filming location.

    “On the other hand, its subsidiary company Leadway Pensure PFA would cater for the pension funds of members, while Pinewood Medicare HMO would serve as a healthcare service provider for the members of the  interest groups within the Nollywood ecosystem.

     

    President, Directors’ Guild of Nigeria (DGN), Fred Amata, who spoke on behalf of the creative industry said the initiative is the first collective effort of the creative sector to seize the opportunity of the persuasive power of unified numbers in negotiating an advantage for the benefit of the larger sector adding that NollyInsured is a progressively inclusive initiative.

    Also the Managing Director, Pinewood Medicare, Dr. Olasimbo Davidson, said the Nolly-care programme is designed firstly to end healthcare inequalities that pertain to income differences, and secondly to end preventable deaths, which often stem from high healthcare costs. Lastly the Nolly-care programme aims to significantly reduce poor health outcomes, which are typically linked to low access to high end specialists and sub- specialists.”

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who was represented by the Managing Director, Nigerian Film Corporation, Dr. Chidia Maduekwe, assured Nollywood stakeholders of the Federal Government’s continual support towards the development of Nollywood insurance scheme, which provides favourable healthcare conditions for practitioners.

    Madueke stressed that the insurance scheme could not have come at a better time, especially in the face of the urgent medical challenges that has faced members of the film industry.

    He pointed out that there was the urgent need for both stakeholders to discuss health insurance and health issues pertaining to Nollywood members.

     

     

     

     

  • Our Girls; Health Insurance Scams

    Our Girls are missing since April 15, 2014. Pray.

    Today – Floods; NASS; Yam; Stop Health Insurance Scheme Scams for Slush Fund 2019 Election Fraud.

    The nationwide floods were pre-announced. Did officials act, control or contribute to the floods? Did sand-dredging and sand-filling the lagoons and lakes and building on waterways contribute? Does our meteorological office give us daily rainfall figures –something we learnt in school geography class? Was flooding inevitable, because of, or in spite of, our poor sanitation costing lives and billions? Many new constructions, some massive and high tech is at a higher level above sea level than historic old properties. This has inevitably locked rainwater in areas just above sea level, stagnating or reversing flows in age-long canals and guaranteeing flooding in old and new lower-lying areas -a vicious circle. As for Lagos and its sand-filling frenzy, may the new Eko Atlantic and other sand-filled outgrowths examine their plans and consciences if they blocked any channels instead of running them under their property to the ocean? Son should not kill father. The new must not drown the old. Patricide is not progress –just murder!

    Drain cleaning is only good if the contents are removed. Nigerian drain contractors rarely remove rubbish which therefore falls back into the drain- ‘negative progress’. Is there a separate contract for removing rubbish? Even street, market and shop sweepers all dump rubbish into gutters. God may allow rain but man must not worsen flood!

    National Assembly (NASS) appears filled with independent candidates whose allegiance is to themselves as individuals first and then to themselves as an unregistered political party NASS, collectively as NASS members and with no allegiance to the party platform they ran on or defected to. Independent Candidates, ICs, come with radical ideas unencumbered by party loyalties, secret oaths and other baggage. However most independent candidates abroad have high moral ground’ or great ‘wealth’ that recommends them for election. For our NASS ICs, ideology, knowledge or affinity for party manifestos seems of little consequence. Nigerians need to look beyond the mainstream parties to interrogate the rest. ‘Seasoned politicians’ become ‘over-seasoned’ and ‘out-of-season’. For 2019, pluck fresh fruit from the forest of politics!

    Exporting raw yam is not a ‘development’. Starch and other products should be extracted, the product concentrated, reducing volume and increasing export profile of Nigeria. No ‘Export of Oil and Import Petroleum Products’ disgrace o!

    Why have we forgotten that Nigeria always had a ‘free’ Health Service Scheme in its regional days?  UCH started in Adeoyo Hospital. Remember that the National Health Service in the UK is budget funded. In Nigeria the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and indeed any state health service scheme are misused to reduce the government responsibility to make health care available through the budget. This has freed up 1] budget billions to steal from and, 2] takes billions from citizens pockets to replace the budget withdrawal or the money is stolen, again from citizens! Imagine the money for administrative staff -money that should be used for paying health workers, equipment and drugs. Government is dodging the bullet by passing the responsibility for health to citizens by contributions.

    Nigerians survived a lifetime of being cheated by governments diverting or not allocating health funds. If all the $350billion+ stolen from our budgets had never been stolen, Nigeria would have a functioning top medical network even employing all Nigerians who were unfortunately driven abroad by the ‘First Professional Exodus’ to avoid financial ruin and ‘Professional Ignominy’ under Babangida when the First Gulf Oil Windfall $12.5billion was reported missing by the Financial Times of London. Know that the ‘Second Professional Exodus’ was ‘Fear Factor’ motivated under Abacha’s murderous rule. Yet, now we pay for health, abi? That ‘Generation of Professionals Abroad’ helped save Nigeria through remittances in billions and guaranteed Nigeria’s ‘Professional Image’ contrasting with the denigration and neglect of professionals and infrastructure at home. Today even our school children buy water or die of typhoid or kidney stones.

    And who will prevent fraud in the health insurance schemes/scams nationwide? Already NHIS boss and HMOs and University of Ibadan are under ‘Query’ fraud. Soon we will allocate some air per day and have to buy excess air by the sachet or bottle, for ‘excesses’ like jogging, dancing and ‘sexercise’, abi? Nigeria done spoil O!

    And get ready for more atrocities of politicians. From past experience, 100 million election posters and 100,000 multimillion naira mega-billboards and overt and covert election bribes with rice, gari and bread ‘stomach infrastructure’ corruption will cost N50-80+billion by 2019. Money stolen or to be stolen from the budget ‘past, present and future’. Budgets also include pension and health funds! The former NHIS boss is accused of diverting or being forced to divert NHIS funds under the last government. How many health schemes will that ‘electioneering money’ fund? All that spent electioneering money must be stolen or has already been stolen from the budget? How many health posters or health billboards will be in schools, communities and markets? Probably none and certainly too few!! The equation does not balance! What stops a government official taking the NHIS funds or the state health scheme funds for fraudulent 2019 political and personal exigencies? A pre-emptive strike and monitoring by EFCC? It happened to pension and NHIS funds before. Health Insurance Scheme money must not become ‘2019 Election Slush Fund Fraud Scam’ OOO!

     

    NB: Nigerians- find new untainted ‘I LOVE NIGERIA’ KNOWLEDGEABLE CANDIDATES for 2019.

  • Health insurance coming for Lagos residents

    Lagos State Government will soon introduce a mandatory community based health insurance scheme for residents, Health Commissioner, Dr. Jide Idris said.
    To benefit from the scheme, they must have the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA) number.
    Idris said the government was embarking on the scheme to address the growing health demand of a megacity.
    He was addressing reporters on the state’s medical mission that will hold in the 57 councils from tomorrow to June 8. The health mission will be for three days every week.
    The scope of services to be provided freely include screening services for non-communicable diseases, especially hypertension and diabetes, treatment of common ailments, HIV counselling and testing, antenatal care and family planning services.
    Others are screening and treatment of common eye diseases, as well as refractions and provision of glasses, dental care services and health education/talks among others.
    Idris explained that with a population of over 22 million, the healthcare demands of the people were also increasing, while their economic burden is becoming more unbearable by the day.
    “This cannot be allowed to continue. Furthermore, with the economic downturn, the free health policy of the state has become inefficient in addressing these issues. Lagos residents will require a safety net to be in place to improve their health outcome, especially the most vulnerable in the society, as well as significantly reduce ‘out-of-pocket’ payments that persists in the country,” Idris said.
    He added: “Unlike the federal based health insurance, the Lagos State Health Insurance Scheme will be managed by Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs), but no HMO will pay directly any money to service providers. An agency will be inaugurated to do just that. Also enrollees will have the right to pick any hospital of choice, either private or public,” said Dr Idris.

  • Leo Mezie: Filmmakers resume health insurance talks

    Leo Mezie: Filmmakers resume health insurance talks

    The campaign is on again to save another entertainer, actor Leo Mezie, who is down with advance kidney failure.

    Since the news broke last Thursday, his colleagues have been making frantic effort to raise N10 million, estimated for an immediate kidney transplant abroad.

    Mezie’s situation is urgent and pathetic owing to the fact that he had been wrongly diagnosed of typhoid fever since last year, until the disease reached a full blown stage.

    Before going public, Mezie had been shouldering the responsibility of undergoing dialysis every week on his own.

    His wife, Maureen said: “Leo Mezie, one of Nollywood sensations who hails from Umuahia, Abia State has been in the movie industry for over a decade now. Leo who is famously called ‘The Prince’ was recently diagnosed of kidney disease and has been on dialysis. The actor who is my husband needs the help of Nigerians to help him live. Kindly take this as a confirmation from me to go ahead with the campaign to raise funds for his treatments. The official account detail for all financial support is Mezie O Leonard, 0125346916, GTBank. Thanks for all the support and prayers. Maureen Leo Mezie.”

    Filmmaker Lancelot Imasuen admonished: “Think! Think and Think Again Nollywoodians!!!, For once let’s look inward to SAVE one of Us Leo Mezie…Nollywood, we can raise Ten Milion to Save our friend and colleague’s life God helping Us…”

    The conversation which continued on an online group chat had some members advocating government’s support, recalling that the GEJ administration had paid the bills of about five filmmakers who were down with similar ailment. However, others feel that a situation whereby filmmakers continue to wait for government or the general public for bail out for sick members wouldn’t have been necessary if the various health insurance schemes proposed in time past were embarrassed.

    “Why must we wait for Government, why did people not buy the health insurance under CONGA that was brought down to 11k a year and up to 100k a year per family covering all medical and pension, and life insurance,” noted a prominent film industry award organiser who cited an example of a scheme proposed by the defunct Coalition of Nollywood Guilds and Associations (CONGA).

    Supporting the health insurance scheme as permanent solution, another filmmaker and former president of Association of Movie Producers (AMP), said: “…All these donate here, donate there are just a “quick fix”. We need to search for permanent and long term solution… Let us revisit this health insurance scheme. In many papers I have presented (including the one  at Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies), I have already documented “Stakeholder Apathy “ as a major challenge in the industry. If some people don’t have shame, I have shame. No industry survives on begging.”

    Yet for another, personal insurance scheme is not a bad idea, saying: “I agree that the industry should get its health insurance scheme in place or rejigged. However, I also have personally canvassed that practitioners should make efforts to personally get their health schemes in place. With about N35K to N50k, you can get yourself and your family a lasting health insurance which covers as much as N1m worth of bills in some cases. Many of us don’t know about this and wait until some illness strikes before running helter skelter.”

    While efforts are on to raise fund for Leo Mezie, another Ghanaian entertainer, OJ Blaq is also down with temporary kidney failure, announced actress Juliet Ibrahim.

     

  • Health insurance book for launch

    A chartered Insurer Bimbo Banjoko has written a book ‘Health Insurance Made Easy’    to fill the knowledge gaps in the practice of health insurance.

    It is a 166-page book written to remove abuses and arbitrariness in bills and medical charges by providers who already provide care on a retainership basis to employers and employees.

    Banjoko, Managing Director of Expatcare Health Limited, a HMO, explained that his interest in clearing all the grey areas, led him to a private research in 1990 and the subsequent practice of health insurance o in 1997 when he co-pioneered Clearline Int. Ltd.

    Banjoko studied for the Associateship of the Chartered Insurance Institute of London (ACII) at Glasgow Caledonian University (former Glasgow College of Technology), Scotland. He is also an associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria.

    He served on the Council of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) between 2009 to 2011.

    Speaking on the book he said: It is “put together for ‘students’ of healthcare finance, health insurance and managed care for effective operations and modeling of contracts because managed care practice brings with it prospects of litigation, need for actuarial valuations and appropriate pricing mechanism.”

  • Nigerian community where health insurance costs $1

    Nigerian community where health insurance costs $1

    [dropcap]C[/dropcap]an one dollar fetch a health insurance in Nigeria? Much as this appears impossible, recent developments at Alagbado, a developing community on the outskirts of Lagos State is proving this to be possible.

    Mrs. Victoria Ayinde, a school teacher who lives in Alagbado said she is aware of the National Health Insurance Scheme but the N25, 000( $125)meagre income she receives as salary for teaching in a secondary school in the centre of the town cannot afford the payment of N750 ($3.75) as monthly premium.
    “After deducting house rent and feeding allowance for my children, the rest of the money is gone. My children come down with Malaria frequently but I take them to the government-owned health centre for treatment.

    “Though consultation is free, I still have to pay for the drugs and other things used in their treatment. But with a Community Health Insurance Scheme where I can get subsidy on premiums, I just may try it out and see the difference it will make”, the widow who has three children stated when she was informed of the development.
    The tale of Olajuwon Amusa, a printer who lives in Alagbado shows the change health insurance can make in the lives of people living in rural communities if they have access to one.
    “My father who worked as a transporter for over 25 years in the north lies at home with arthritis. He is 63 now and he cannot walk properly because the pains in his joint won’t allow him. I have spent all my savings on drugs for him and I can no longer bear the cost of the treatment. I can’t take him back to the hospital because I don’t have money. A man comes here to rub an herbal balm on his legs but there hasn’t been any change. I have heard of Health Insurance but I never considered it because I think it is for people who work in big offices”, he submitted.
    Overtime, access to healthcare by rural folks in many Nigerian communities is faced with myriads of challenges which have led to a burden of communicable diseases as well as increase in non-communicable diseases like cancer, heart diseases and other chronic ailments. Already, outbound medical tourism fueled by poor healthcare in the country is pegged at $500 million annually.
    Stakeholders in Nigeria’s health sector have also argued that since prevalent private expenditure pegged at 63 percent is mostly out-of-pocket, there is an active demand for private healthcare in Nigeria.
    As the MDGs closes in and Nigeria joins the rest of the world in agreeing to a new set of sustainable development goals, there is no doubting the fact that a scale up of community health insurance schemes targeted at rural communities can help ensure healthy lives and promote well being for people of all, at all ages.
    With a gateway opened to residents of Alagbado through a Community Health Insurance Scheme (CHIS) initiated by Optimal Healthcare Limited, the people seem set to be on a pathway to healthy living.
    Dr. Femi Olaleye, the Managing Director of Optimal Healthcare Limited, the organisation introducing the CHIS to Alagbado said the scheme will cover general out-patient services, child welfare services, health education classes, diet- nutrition demonstration classes, weight loss/ monitoring classes, preventive health/breast cancer screening and family health services as well as pregnancy issues.
    Launched in June 12, 2015, the scheme is said to be a grassroots approach to drive health care delivery that is affordable and accessible for the people irrespective of their social class. With the payment of a monthly premium of N200 (less than a dollar at the current exchange rate), members of the community would have access to treatment covering a range of primary healthcare services and preventive care at the health facility.
    Dr. Femi Olaleye, a consultant obstetrician and gynecologist who founded Optimal Healthcare Limited in 2013 and Wish for Africa-a UK registered charity organisation is partnering with FBN MicroFinance Bank to deliver the service to the people of the community.
    Olaleye further disclosed that the National Health Insurance Scheme set up by the federal government in 1999 approves a monthly capitation of N750 ( $3.75) per enrolee.
    “The amount appears too high for a typical family of father, mother and four children under the age of 16 years, a reason why there has been low uptake so far.To help individuals and families cross the hurdle of payment of this fee, we are introducing a monthly subsidy of N550 per head. The subsidy shall be provided by a combination of donors and sponsors brought together by a desire for them to fulfill their corporate social responsibility to the community”, he stated.
    Andin a clime where people are not eager to sign up for health insurance, Olaleye is optimistic that the Alagbado model will be established with members of the community driving the project. He expressed confidence that with the support of CSR driven groups, the project would be extended to other high density, low-income areas of the state where health services are needed.
    “Now that Lagos State Government has signed a bill to support this form of healthcare financing as a policy of government, I believe that on the long run with large number of people enrolling, the scheme shall be sustained and the benefits shall be felt and appreciated by all, especially members of the community”, he told The Nation.