The Bayelsa State Health Insurance Scheme enrolled no fewer than 101,000 public sector workers in the last one year.

Its Executive Secretary, Dr Zuoboemi Agadah, said this on Wednesday during a one-day symposium organised by the United Healthcare International, a health maintenance organisation.

Agadah said that the event was to mark one year of its establishment.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the programme was tagged: “BHIS journey so far focus on quality and expansion of coverage”.

He said that the Bayelsa government started a health insurance scheme for its workforce in June 2017 with a plan to extend it to cover the informal sector.

He said: “This is a one-day symposium; we are organising for the Board Members of the Bayelsa State Health Insurance Scheme. We are to be a year in operations in August.

“So, we thought we should get ourselves acquainted with the work; and be on the same page, as we desire to expand our coverage to the sectors that are not covered.

“Over 101,000 people have enrolled and over 30,000 people have sought for care in different health facilities in the state. Over 8,000 have had secondary and primary care at different levels.

“We have over 30,000 people utilising both the primary and secondary care. So, it is very encouraging,” he said.

The executive secretary informed the private sector and the urban self-employed that the scheme would come up with a law for it to be mandatory for everyone in Bayelsa.

The General Manager, United Healthcare International, Dr Olusegun Akere, in his presentations, said that the symposium was meant to enlighten the board members on the basis of health insurance.

“The first presentation was on the concept of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) while the second presentation looked at the Social Health Insurance Scheme.

“We will raise the scheme from the formal sector to the informal one; and group them to know the vulnerable and the indigent people, who are those that need subsidy and impartial subsidy,” he said.

The immediate past chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr Kenneth Pondei, advised the people to key-in into the scheme. (NAN)

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