Abia Govt Approves Health Insurance Scheme For Civil Servants

The Abia State Government has approved the rollout of the Abia State Formal Health Insurance Scheme aimed at providing affordable healthcare for civil servants and their dependents.

Speaking during a press briefing on the outcome of the weekly executive meeting chaired by the Governor, the Commissioner for Information, Prince Kanu noted that the scheme, which will commence on April 1, 2025, will operate under a contributory system where workers will pay 5 per cent of their basic salary, while the government will contribute 10 per cent.

However, to ease the financial burden, Governor Alex Otti has approved an initial arrangement where the state will pay 12.5 per cent for the first six months, reducing workers’ contributions to 2.5 per cent.

He revealed that a three-month sensitisation program will be conducted across ministries to educate workers on the benefits of the scheme before its implementation.

Speaking more on the initiative, the Commissioner for Health, Mr Enoch Uche, explained that the scheme is designed to complement the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund, which already supports vulnerable groups, including children under five, senior citizens above 70, and persons with disabilities.

“As we speak, over 54,000 enrollees in that basic health insurance fund are already benefiting from that program,” he stated, adding that the government has allocated ₦500m as counterpart funding, with another ₦500m to be released after six months.

The government emphasised that the scheme is compulsory for all state employees to ensure widespread coverage. While individuals may maintain private insurance plans, the Commissioner clarified that participation in the state’s scheme remains mandatory.

“Some people can participate in the social insurance plan and keep a private plan because we know that for each plan, there are things that are covered. So, you may have something that is covered by this plan, and maybe it’s not covered by the other plan,” said Uche.

He also highlighted the scope of coverage, explaining that while conditions such as malaria, typhoid, diabetes, and deliveries, including caesarean sections, are covered, complex procedures like brain surgeries will require specialised plans.

“If you bring brain surgery to the formal sector plan, one person can exhaust the resources. So, in order to protect the generality of the citizens, common things are covered,” he said.

Uche said that robust mechanisms have been put in place to ensure accountability and prevent financial mismanagement.

“The mechanisms that we put in place to ensure accountability—the process has already taken place before we got to this point to ensure that all the I’s are dotted and all the T’s are crossed,” he said.

He further emphasised that transparency remains a priority, adding that the state has already tested its capacity for effective fund management through the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund, which has seen an increase in enrolment from 40,000 to 54,000 in the last three months.

The Commissioner also announced that 71 hospitals, both public and private, have been selected to provide healthcare services under the scheme, with more facilities to be added as the state completes its ongoing construction of 200 primary healthcare centres.

“We already have 71 hospitals. Some of them are private, and some of them are public. What is important is that we select them based on the standard of care we want our citizens to have,” he stated.

Responding to concerns about the progress of healthcare projects, the commissioner for health, Enoch Uche, revealed that plans are underway for an independent media tour to assess and report on completed and ongoing developments.

“Now that many of the projects are getting completed or nearing completion, we want to go so that it will not be a case of ‘you said.’ Everybody will see it and be satisfied with what we are doing,” he said.

In another development, the Commissioner for Information, Prince Kanu, disclosed that Governor Otti has approved the appointment of Dr. Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Meribole as Special Adviser on Projects.

Dr Meribole, a former Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Aviation, said he will oversee the Abia Airport project and other key infrastructural initiatives.

Abia Govt Approves Health Insurance Scheme For Civil Servants is first published on The Whistler Newspaper