Several months after the Lagos State government launched the Lagos Health Insurance Scheme, the state governor; Babajide Sanwo-Olu has submitted that the scheme is the only guarantee to access affordable healthcare, whether in public or private health facilities in the state.
The state health insurance scheme was launched in December 2018 by the immediate past governor, Akinwunmi Ambode. However, its implementation in the state since the launch has been everything but impressive, as residents seem not to be looking in its direction.
Industry sources have blamed the poor penetration of the health insurance scheme on inadequate public awareness. The scheme majorly targets to eliminate out-of-pocket payment for healthcare service and its dire consequences on the health of the citizens. With the increasing poverty level in Nigeria, majority of the citizens can barely access healthcare, just as cases of patients being detained in hospitals for inability to pay up their medical bill are regularly reported.
But Sanwo-Olu believed all this can change if Lagosians embraced the health insurance scheme.
“For health to be completely affordable and accessible, people must subscribe to our Health Insurance Scheme, where we need to increase coverage in terms of registration. This is how developed countries are able to tackle their health financing and access,” said Sanwo-Olu at Medic West Africa conference which kicked off at Eko Convention Centre, Victoria Island, on Wednesday.
According to the governor, the financing process of the scheme is such that anyone who falls ill at any given time will have full access to treatment because such person contributed to the scheme. The scheme also allows the option of health facilities to be used by a subscriber to include private hospitals.
Sanwo-Olu noted that the state government would also start the process of revamping its road ambulance scheme, with the objective of creating more ambulance points across the state.
This, he said, would include deployment of emergency responders each ambulance point to give palliative treatment to the injured before being transported to hospitals.
Aside upgrading the state-owned specialist hospitals, primary healthcare centres, Sanwo-Olu added, are also being strengthened to reduce pressure on the secondary health facilities.
He therefore appealed to the residents of the state to register for the health insurance scheme to be able to access improved healthcare services.
JOSHUA BASSEY
