The Lagos State government has launched its health insurance scheme but Jide Idris, the state’s commissioner of health has said the most appropriate model that will guarantee sustainability of this scheme is public private partnership.
The scheme targets to cover 10 percent of the state’s population in enrolment. “It means collaboration with one another, committing to strategies that will increase visibility and deepen financing of health penetration” Idris said at a stakeholders meeting to discuss the less than two months old scheme.
The platform was organised by the Medical, Pharmaceutical and Allied Services Group, an active and vibrant organ of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Thursday 7, January in Lagos.
According to Idris, about 40 percent of the primary healthcare facilities have not been functional, noting that a lot of things are unutilised because of maintenance culture, “We have to break out of these barriers and restructure the healthcare system.”
The health insurance scheme aimed at improving healthcare delivery for Lagosians especially the poor was launched on December 18 2018. However, the role of stakeholders is to understand the scheme fully, register families, ensure regular payments of premium and support continuous education and enlightenment of colleagues and Lagosians at large.
“The issue of quality services cannot be missed out in this scheme. We need quality service to build the enrolees trust. I believe there is still more need for advocacy to create awareness about the scheme,” said Tunji Akintade, chairman, Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria (AGPMPN), Lagos State Chapter.
According to the panellists, the issues of quality services, premiums, capitations and funding could be the biggest challenges the scheme might be faced with.
However, Peju Adenusi, the General Manager, Lagos State Health Management Agency, LASHMA, said “Lagos health scheme is the scheme that has been designed to provide quality health care services, equity of health care services, which means that, regardless of who you are, your social status or educational status, you have access to quality healthcare”.
Lagos State’s commissioner of help explained that the scheme is complex and will need a dedicated fund set up to drive it. People and right infrastructure are critical to make it happen, “if we can get the demand sorted the supply will be easy” Idris said.
To ensure the scheme succeeds, Lagos state is taking it slowly, taming undue ambition and educating potential enrolees.
“People’s confidence needs to be gained; the fear of quality is beyond,” Akintade added.
The Scheme is a tool to achieve Universal Health Coverage in which every stakeholder has a role to play “everyone is an enrolee, because it is a mandatory health scheme. As long as you reside in Lagos state” Adenusi said.
ANTHONIA OBOKOH
