The Enugu State Government has said it is intensifying efforts to increase enrollment into its Universal Health Coverage (UHC) scheme to expand access to affordable healthcare services across the state.
The Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, Enugu State Agency for Universal Health Coverage, Edith Okolo, disclosed this on Tuesday during a UHC Multi-Stakeholder Implementation Meeting in Enugu.
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Ms Okolo said although the agency had made considerable progress since the commencement of the programme, more work remained to be done, especially in changing public perception about health insurance.
According to her, many residents initially viewed the scheme with suspicion, believing it might be fraudulent despite the low premium and wide healthcare benefits attached to it.
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“Some people think it is a scam to access healthcare with just N12,000 per year but we are getting positive testimonies from beneficiaries who paid N12,000 and accessed healthcare services successfully,” she said.
The executive secretary noted that health insurance was mandatory under both the National Health Insurance Authority Law of 2021 and the Enugu State Health Sector Reform Law of 2017.
She, however, explained that the state government was currently focusing on persuasion rather than enforcement.
“We are trying to appeal to people by showing them the benefits instead of enforcing it immediately, but our next stage will involve enforcement measures,” she said.
Ms Okolo said future enforcement mechanisms might include requiring evidence of health insurance before accessing certain government services, school enrollment, or business license renewal.
She revealed that the agency was also planning to introduce a health insurance certificate for businesses as part of licensing requirements.
Speaking on the benefits of the scheme, Ms Okolo explained that the basic minimum package of health services covered common ailments such as malaria, typhoid, pneumonia, hypertension, diabetes, diarrhea, arthritis, pediatric illnesses, and snake bites.
She added that enrollees would not pay for consultations, laboratory tests, drugs, surgeries, or hospital admissions covered under the package.
“It also covers surgeries such as appendectomy and caesarean section, with up to 20 days hospital admission for surgical cases and 15 days for medical cases,” he stated.
On enrollment, Ms Okolo disclosed that the agency was currently conducting a special enrollment drive for vulnerable groups, including pregnant women, children under five years.
Others were persons living with disabilities, the elderly aged 85 years and above, and extremely poor persons.
He said the state hoped to enroll at least 45,000 vulnerable persons under the free scheme funded by both the state and federal governments.
For others, Ms Okolo said enrollment remained open at N12,000 annually, with flexible payment options available.
“We understand that paying N12,000 at once may be difficult for some families, so we introduced installment options of N200 daily for 60 days or N400 daily for 30 days,” she explained.
She further stated that the scheme currently worked with state-owned, primary healthcare, faith-based, and private hospitals across the state.
Ms Okolo added that the agency’s goal was to ensure that every local government area in the state had accessible accredited healthcare providers.
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Ms Okolo explained that the quarterly stakeholders’ meeting was aimed at strengthening collaboration and ensuring active participation of all groups involved in implementing universal health coverage in the state.
NLC reacts
In his remarks, the state Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Fabian Nwigbo, urged the state government to subsidise the scheme for civil servants.
“Workers see the N12,000 premium as high. If government can pay 70 per cent while workers contribute 30 per cent, more workers will enroll into the scheme,” Mr Nwigbo said.
(NAN)
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