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

The Executive Secretary of the agency, Yahaya Ubam, said this at a quarterly press briefing to update the public on the agency’s activities and performance indicators.

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

He said that the programme was inaugurated in 2019 with zero enrollees but now has 351,610 persons.

Mr Ubam said many of the enrollees are benefiting daily from the medical services rendered at 268 healthcare facilities spread across 147 electoral wards of the 13 local government areas (LGAs) of the state.

He said that NASHIA digitalised its processes to ensure easy access to effective healthcare services for enrollees, which had so far improved efficiency and transparency.

He called 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 scheme.

The executive secretary expressed gratitude to the state governor, Abdullahi Sule, for the progress made so far in the agency.

He appealed to the governor to give the agency some vehicles and office accommodation for the headquarters and zonal offices to enhance their operations.

He appreciated spirited individuals whom he said had helped some indigent persons in their communities and urged others to emulate the gesture.

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

He said that the agency’s enrolment drive was deliberately targeted at civil servants, artisans and traders in the informal sector, students in tertiary institutions, as well as the poor and vulnerable households.

He said that the 268 accredited facilities, delivering services under the scheme, were 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.

The executive secretary added that the agency had digitised 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 said. 
(NAN)