…says ‘despite economic challenges, we still offer quality services’
From Seyi Tayese, Yenagoa
The management of Bayelsa State Health Insurance Scheme (BHIS) on Thursday said the high rates of inflation in the country is one of their major challenge in delivering the expected health care services to the beneficiaries of the scheme.
The BHIS which was restructured and reorganized commenced operations fully in 2017 under the administration of former governor Henry Seriake Dickson now senator representing Bayelsa West Senatorial District to give adequate health insurance covers to all civil servants in the state but was later extended to both informal sectors across the state.
Addressing members of the Federated Correspondents’ Chapel (FCC) of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Bayelsa State Council during their Correspondents’ Forum Media interactions, the Executive Secretary of Bayelsa Health Insurance Scheme Dr. Zuoboemi Agadah said, any countries that do not have control over there pharmaceutical companies and technology cannot achieve Universal Health coverage.
He said many countries that achieved universal health coverage have control over there inflation, saying not a free fall like we have in our country here. ” While the inflation’s is high the deductions still remain what we were deducting since 2017 to 2024. How do we cope? The issues of inflation, pharmaceutical companies, technologies and others are posing serious Challenges, but we are still rendering the same quality services”.
“While we face inflation and high cost of drugs and others, we cannot tell the people that are contributing to contribute more. As the inflation is high the hospitals are also telling us that what we are paying them can no longer obtainable. When we designed this program in 2017 Augmentin was less than one thousand naira but as 2024 is about N25,000 while some are even selling it for N30,000. No government can manage this type of thing.
“We are planning to setup a Central Drugs Distribution system, drugs management organization so that they can get direct drugs from major distribution centers or direct from manufacturers. So, one the drug will be cheaper, secondly,all of us are sure of quality so that any drugs that gives problems,we know who is to hold responsible. Not that every vendors will be supplying drugs at his own cost and the rest, so that all our hospitals will go there to get drugs in the state.
” So, our challenge is, we still need more money so that we can take care of more people”.
According to him, they have over two hundred thousand enrollees in there data from 2017 to 2024 out which over one hundred thousand are civil servants while the rest comes from informal sectors.
Dr. Agadah said, civil servants pay 2 percent from their salaries while those in informal sectors pay two thousand naira a month that gives twenty four thousand naira a year. “When you come into the BHIS, we don’t bother about your status or financial state. We equalize everybody for the benefits”.
According to him, the BHIS have 203 accredited hospitals, 97 hospital and 106 health centers across the state.
