Abia Offers Health Insurance Cover to Formal Sector Workers, Sets Aside N1bn Premium
Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia
Employees in the formal sector in Abia State have been offered health insurance cover as the state government has given approval for the commencement of the State Health Insurance Scheme.
The Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, told journalists Thursday that the State Executive Council gave its nod for the health insurance scheme to be rolled out at its meeting for the week.
He said that the scheme would provide opportunity for workers to have access to qualitative “affordable healthcare services”.
“This (insurance) is one of the health schemes that underscores the high premium the administration places on health,” he said.
The Commissioner for Health, Prof. Enoch Ogbonnaya Uche, who shed more light on the the State Health Insurance Scheme, said that
Governor Alex Otti has already approved N1 billion premium for the scheme.
He said that 50 per cent or N500 million of the premium would be paid at the first instance and six months later, the remaining N500 million would be released for the smooth running of the scheme.
Uche described the health insurance scheme as “a noble project and a bold move meant to address the healthcare needs of workers in Abia State together with their dependants”.
He said that the governor has directed that a three-month sensitization programme should be carried out in all the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to enlighten workers on the benefits of having health insurance cover.
Uche stated that: “The basic healthcare provider fund, which provides for the vulnerable groups is already on. Over 54,000 enrollees in that basic health insurance fund are already benefiting from the scheme.”
He explained that by law, every civil servant is expected to contribute five per cent of basic salary to the insurance scheme, while the state will contribute 10 per cent of the premium.
However, the health commissioner pointed out that Governor Otti has approved for government to subsidise workers’ contribution by paying 12.5 per cent in the first six months, with civil servants contributing 2.5 per cent.
On the ongoing ‘Project Ekwueme’, which involves construction of 200 primary health centres across the 184 wards in Abia, Kanu said that the implementation has reached 60 per cent.
“What that means is that very soon, the project will be completed and ready for commissioning,” he stated.
Kanu also said that the Ministry of Power and Public Utilities was making progress in the execution of water projects across the state as they have reached various levels of completion.
He further stated that the ministry has made progress with the Water Supply and Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) programme that involves the construction of modern toilet facilities in order to end the practice of open defecation in the state.
