Imported User:
Dr Okechukwu Ogah, Abia Commissioner for Health, on Wednesday said that civil servants in the state would soon be enlisted into the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
Ogah told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Umuahia that the government was currently tidying up paper works to ensure that the scheme was realised in the state.
NAN reports that Abia is one of the few states that indicated interest to include its workforce into the scheme.
Gov. Theodore Orji had during the visit of the acting Executive Secretary of NHIS, Dr Abdulrahman Sambo assured that workers in state would be enrolled to enjoy the benefit of the scheme.
Ogah assured the workers that the state government was still committed to the fulfillment of the promise.
``The NHIS bill is currently before the State House of Assembly and as soon as the bill is passed we will start enrollment.
``We have already selected the Health Management Organisations (HMOs) and are mapping out how to locate them across the state.’’
The commissioner said that government was taking issues on health at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels seriously.
``We intend to increase the number of facilities we have and also upgrade existing ones.
``We have shortage of human resources and are putting up a lot of mechanisms to make our people come to work for the state.
``One of our major constraints was the disparity in salary between federal and state workers.
``But today our staff are enjoying the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS),” Ogah said. (NAN)
