Pressure Mounts On FCTA To Broaden Health Insurance Coverage

Indigenes of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are calling on the FCT administration to extend the FCT Health Insurance Scheme (FHIS) to accommodate more locals, citing lack of awareness and unfairness.

Some residents, including a pregnant woman, Agnes David told THE WHISTLER that they missed the enrollment deadline as they weren’t informed about it until it was too late.

“My neighbour told me about it but I thought it was something you could just walk in and register when you are ready. I thought it was something you could just walk in and register when you are ready,” David, an indigenes of Dutse Baupma, in Bwari area council lamented.

Musa Yakubu, a resident of Ijayapi, in Bwari area council, also expressed frustration, saying, “Someone just told me about it and asked me to go to any Primary Health Care Center close to me to enroll, but when I went to Byazhin Primary Health Care Center, I was told that the registration had been completed.”

THE WHISTLER visited the Byazhin Primary Health Care Center and the Dutse Primary Health Care Center and found that the enrollment process had indeed been completed.

A staff member at Dutse Primary Health Care Center explained, “People from FCT came to do the enrollment. They even came with officials from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) for people that do not have NIN. What we are waiting for now is implementation.”

Recall that last year, Mr. Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the FCT Minister, had announced that the FCT Health Insurance Scheme had enrolled 198,810 residents in one year, with 10,065 vulnerable persons, including pregnant women, accessing free medical services.

Olayinka explained that the scheme had recorded significant increases in enrollment since the inception of the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike-led FCTA, with more than 100 percent annual enrollment target of 25,000 beneficiaries.

Olayinka stated that the move was part of the FCTA’s resolve to end maternal and infant mortality resulting from avoidable and preventable causes.

He added that the enrollment will allow beneficiaries to access free healthcare services in Primary Health Care (PHC) centers and all services covered in the Basic Minimum Package of Health Services (BMPHS), including primary preventive care, screening, and primary emergency services.

Last month, the Acting Director of FHIS, Dr. Salamatu Belgore, disclosed that the scheme has recorded over 250,000 enrollees across the Federal Capital Territory, and urged residents to enroll to access quality healthcare services.