Okowa okays Bill for establishment of Delta State Health insurance Agency

As part of efforts to ensure universal health coverage (UHC) in Nigeria, the Delta State Governor, Dr. Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa, on Tuesday, signed into law a Bill for the establishment of the State’s Contributory Health Commission.

Okowa at the brief ceremony in Government House Asaba said that the only way to achieve UHC in the country was for states to buy immediately into health insurance, which was certain to provide support for the majority poor to access health care without financial burden.

Okowa said it was a testimony to his confidence in health insurance as a veritable bridge between the people and effective health care, that he had the bill for this law prepared well ahead of the inauguration of his government in May 2015.

Acting Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Mr. Femi Akingbade, was full of praises for the Governor, who he described as a trail blazer in the responsibility of government to provide for the people, easy access to efficient, effective, affordable and quality healthcare without being limited by financial constraints.

According to a statement from the NHIS, with the signing of the bill into law, Delta becomes the second state in the country after Lagos, to have established a statutory agency for health insurance.

The statement noted: “This is in exact consonance with the new policy thrust of the National Health Insurance Scheme to devolve its sole regulatory powers to state governments to enable them run their own health insurance agencies, as part of strategies to hasten the attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Nigeria.”

Akingbade particularly applauded the speed with which the bill was processed by the state House of Assembly, as a demonstration of a responsible legislative posture that expresses commitment to the welfare and socio-economic progress of the people of the state, urging other state legislatures in the country to borrow a leaf from Delta.

Akingbade expressed delight with the collaboration between NHIS and Delta state, especially in terms of the technical and financial support of the Scheme to the state towards the establishment of a health insurance agency in the state, which has now proven to be a worthy exercise.

He recalled the passion and devotion of the Governor to the emergence of the National Health Act during his successful watch as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, describing the establishment of the Delta State Contributory Health Commission as a strategic implementation of the Act in the state.

The NHIS boss however reminded the people of Delta that the establishment of the Commission was only a first step in the right direction, as the main challenge lies ahead, being the effective implementation of the Contributory Healthcare Scheme, created by the new law.

He described health insurance as the best form of health care financing in the world, with special reference to meeting the healthcare needs of the poor, the vulnerable and the socially excluded, while expressing confidence that the programme will thrive under Governor Okowa.

Okowa paid glowing tribute to NHIS, whose technical and funding support he credited with the success so far recorded, while assuring the people of the state of his administration’s determination to sustain the programme for the benefit of all.

He acknowledged the pressing need for aggressive advocacy across the state, to assist citizens understand the process and benefits of the programme, as well as achieve massive patronage by the people, promising to ensure that this is done through all available communication channels.

NHIS is currently driving a nationwide advocacy to the leadership of state governments to sell the concept of its State Social Health Insurance Programme (SSHIP), which seeks to encourage state governments to establish health insurance agencies of their own, backed with appropriate laws, which make health insurance mandatory.

Some of the carrots offered by the Scheme include assistance for capacity building, technical support and counterpart funding.