Committee
By Blessing Odega,
Jos, May16th 2018(NAN) Plateau Government on Wednesday in Jos, inaugurated three committees for the establishment of a State Social Health Insurance Scheme (SSHIS) .
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Kuden Deyin, who inaugurated the committees, listed them as the Minimum Package,Advocacy and Template committees.
He said that the state government wanted to adopt the scheme to make health care delivery accessible to residents.
Deyin lamented that the state workers and other citizens in the informal sector were incurring “out of pocket expenditure” whenever they wanted to access healthcare services.
According to him, the committees inaugurated have been saddled with various responsibilities for the smooth take-off of the scheme in the state.
He said the Minimum Package Committee would determine the minimum package for the entire scheme, services to be provided at each level of the health institutions and staff requirement.
The Commissioner further disclosed that the Advocacy committee was to create awareness on the scheme, provide legislative backing and advocate budgetary allocation for the scheme.
He further hinted that the law template committee was to come up with the bill for the establishment of the SSHIS, determine the structure of the scheme and also make general recommendations for the proper institutional arrangement.
Deyin said that when the health insurance scheme is adopted in the state, it would enable residents to access healthcare services by paying a small percentage of the service charge.
Dr. John Sariki, who spoke on behalf of the various committee members, commended the government for seeing them fit to carry out the noble task.
He said that it was an honour to be called to serve, and assured that they would not betray the confidence reposed in them.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the committees were given a time frame of one month to come up with the required results. (NAN)
UBO/ASH/ASH