The mobile phone technology is fast providing answers to the challenges facing the human race, simplifying processes. Already, there are some wearable devices in the market. Fitbit Flex is one of them. It is a band strapped around the user’s wrist and tracks how many steps he takes, the distance he travels and how many calories he burns. Mobile health is gaining traction, writes LUCAS AJANAKU.
A major challenge facing Nigeria, like other developing countries, is how to improve access to quality health care for the entire population. This is the principal reason that motivated the idea of health insurance which the Federal Government has pursued vigorously in the last one decade or so.
Indeed, it is the way to go. The World Health Organisation (WHO) in a recent report said, “A health system where individuals have to pay out of their own pockets at the moment of seeking treatment restricts access to only those who can afford it, and is likely to exclude the poorest members of the society.”
Even a fairly comfortable man may find that he does not have enough money in his account at the exact time he falls sick, especially when the sickness happens towards the end of the month when he has finished spending his last salary.
This is why, across the world, a broad range of risk-pooling mechanisms or insurance schemes are increasingly being utilised to boost populations’ access to health care and reduce the financial burden of health services.
However, as laudable as the health insurance is, it has not been embraced by the populace as expected. The Federal Government is working on the target of providing health insurance for at least 30 per cent of Nigerians by the end of this year.
Globacom has taken a giant step in assisting the Federal Government to achieve this target by introducing what it called the Glo Mobile Health Insurance Scheme. The package is put together in partnership with the Nigerian Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and Salt and Einstein MTS.
The mobile health insurance product was unveiled in Abuja recently by top Globacom officials and senior officials of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
According to Globacom, this product is aimed at bringing health care to millions of Nigerians through their telephone handsets. The scheme will guarantee Globacom customers free and easy-to-access consultation and medication in over 8,000 hospitals across the country. It will open a viable avenue for millions of people to come under the health insurance coverage, enabling them to sign up to one of the many Health Management Organisations accommodated in the scheme.
To benefit from this package, Globacom subscribers need to do dial *616# on their mobile phones and they will instantly be placed on the Glo Health platform after a simple registration process.
Once subscribed, they will be able to use their mobile phones for a range of pre-defined medical treatments for which affordable premiums are remitted through the subscribers’ mobile phone credit.
The package also comes with supply of drugs free from NHIS accredited operators across the country for subscribers who are consistent in the payment of their premiums for the first three months.
The premiums have been deliberately made affordable for virtually everyone. Subscribers can pay N35 per day, N250 per week or N1000 per month to qualify to benefit from the mobile insurance package.
“We do not know when we will fall sick and require medical attention. The beauty of health insurance is that it takes away the burden of worrying whether you will have any money left in your account or in your wallet when next you fall sick. With health insurance cover, anytime you fall sick, you can rest assured that you will have access to quality medical treatment even if you have nothing left in your wallet or in your bank account,” said Globacom’s Regional Chief Marketing Officer, Mr. Ashok Israni.
According to him, there are millions of Nigerians yet to tap into the immense benefits of health insurance. He said the initiative would open a viable avenue for some of these people to come under the health insurance coverage, enabling them to sign up for one of the many Health Management Organisations accommodated in the scheme.
He said the product will go a long way in realizing the national objective of extending health insurance to Nigerians regardless of their financial status or social class.
“Together with our partners, Salt & Einstein MTS and NHIS, Globacom is committed to achieving universal health coverage for all Nigerians within the shortest time possible,” Israni added.
The Chairman of Salt and Einstein MTS, Ernest Ndukwe, said the scheme would reduce the fear of the cost of health care among the populace. According to him, many Nigerians are typically afraid of going to the hospital when they are ill, but with the product, that fear has been removed. He praised Globacom for its efforts in midwifing the scheme.
The Executive Secretary of NHIS, Dr. Femi Thomas, said the beauty of the scheme is that the health care cost of one person is shared by all subscribers such that the financial burden is virtually lifted off . He commended Globacom for providing its infrastructure for the project.
