Abuja, Nigeria (CU)_ The Cross River State administration has revived the Ayadecare Health Insurance Scheme, which has been made mandatory for the state people, particularly civil servants. Godwin Iyala, Director-General of the Cross River Health Insurance Scheme, led the flag-off ceremony in Calabar on Thursday. The flag-off was critical in terms of encouraging formal sector participation in the program.
Iyala stated that the program was created to ensure inhabitants of the state have access to inexpensive and high-quality healthcare, and that each candidate will contribute N1000 per month to the insurance system. According to him, qualified individuals would provide quality services to state employees in the formal sector.
Iyala said, “Universal health care is what the government intends, this is important because it helps workers put money back into their pocket instead of paying out of pocket”. He added, “With N12, 000 annually, every enrolled worker in the state can secure care in the Primary Healthcare Centers, General Hospitals or the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) when the case arises”.
According to Timothy Akwaji, the state’s Head of Service, the system has legal support, making it necessary for all civil and public officials, as well as the political elite, to participate in the scheme at an economical cost. He said, “With this formal enrollment ceremony, deductions of the sum of N1,000 monthly each from the enrollees will commence forthwith.” Mrs Margaret Moffi, State Coordinator of the National Health Insurance System (NHIS), encouraged the state government to establish a board for the organization in order to manage it professionally and successfully.
