Nasarawa agency enrols 351, 610 residents under health insurance

Timescope News 

The Nasarawa State Health Insurance Agency (NASHIA) has enrolled 351,610 residents into the state health insurance scheme.

Dr Yahaya Ubam, Executive Secretary of the agency disclosed the figure at a quarterly press briefing convened to update the public on the agency’s activities and performance indicators.  

He explained that the beneficiaries were registered under different packages, including the public sector, the informal sector, vulnerable groups and students.  

The Executive Secretary noted that the programme was inaugurated in 2019 with zero enrollees, and that as of today the agency has registered over 351,610 persons.  

According to him, many of the enrollees are benefiting daily from medical services rendered at 268 healthcare facilities spread across 147 electoral wards of the 13 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.

Dr Ubam further announced that NASHIA has digitalised all its processes to ensure easy access to effective healthcare services for enrollees which has so far improved efficiency and transparency.  

He used the briefing to call on healthcare providers in the state to be professional in their conduct and to give enrollees the desired services, saying such conduct would increase public confidence in the insurance scheme.  

The Executive Secretary attributed the feats the agency achieved over the years to the support from Gov. Abdullahi Sule.

He however, appealed to the governor to give the agency at least six vehicles as well as more office accommodation for their Zonal offices and the headquarters to enhance their operations.

He appreciated spirited individuals who had adopted and paid for indigent persons in their communities, and urged other well-meaning citizens to emulate the gesture to expand coverage for the poor and vulnerable.  

He assured that the agency would continue to strive hard towards achieving its mandate, which aligns with the broader goal of universal health coverage.  

He said the agency’s enrolment drive deliberately targets civil servants, artisans and traders in the informal sector, students in tertiary institutions, as well as poor and vulnerable households identified through community structures.  

He said that the 268 accredited facilities delivering services under the scheme are distributed across the 147 electoral wards of the 13 LGAs to ensure that enrollees in both urban centres and rural communities have access points for healthcare.  

He added that the agency had digitalised its system to cover registration, premium tracking, claims management and feedback mechanisms.

"The digitalisation has helped in reducing bottlenecks and allowed enrollees to interact with the system more seamlessly," he added. (NAN).