By Daniel Tyokua
The minster of the FCT, Malam Muhammad Bello has called on the management of the FCT Health Insurance Scheme ,FHIS, to evolve measures that every resident of FCT will be covered under the Scheme.
He gave the directive when he received the FHIS Director, Dr Ahmed Danfulani and his management team, who were at the FCTA to present the Working Documents of the Scheme to the Minister.
Bello told the Health Insurance Scheme management to involve critical stakeholders in running affairs of the scheme, which he said one of the mandates given to the FCT Administration by President Muhammadu Buhari was to widen the health insurance coverage of FCT residents.
The minister said, “the mandate given to us by President Muhammadu Buhari is to widen coverage of health insurance in the FCT and the mandate I am giving you is to ensure that every citizen in the FCT, either in the formal or informal sector is covered”.
The Minister also urged the FHIS management to ensure that the FCT Health Insurance Scheme succeeds in the Territory because, payment for health services all at once either by individuals or even the government is no longer tenable, considering the ever increasing cost of medical services especially for diseases such as cancer or orthopedic procedures
He asked the FHIS team to also work out ways in which enrollees under the scheme had the option of paying more for wider coverage, urging them to improve their services and grow the Scheme based on sound business practices, financial management and a robust ICT infrastructure.
While calling on the FHIS team to develop a robust publicity strategy in order to meet its objectives, Bello also urged them to work out a system that will take care of the aged in the society.
He said “you have to work out a system to make sure that the aged pay only a reasonable amount of money to get good quality healthcare because they have served the country and the FCT, so it is now the duty of the country to take care of them”
In his remarks, the Director of the FCT Insurance Scheme, Dr Ahmed Danfulani, while presenting the Working Documents to the Minister, explained that the documents were prepared over a period of two years and will guide the everyday operations and activities of the scheme.
