By Anne Azuka
In its effort towards providing easy access to healthcare for all tertiary institution students, the Director General, Delta State Contributory Health Commission, Dr. Isaac Akpoveta has urged Nigerian students to key into the Contributory Health Insurance Scheme so as to live a healthy life.
Dr. Akpoveta gave the advice at the launch of the Tertiary Institutions Social Health Insurance Programme (TISHIP) held at the Dennis Osadebay University Asaba.
According to him, all the students in this country should enroll into the health insurance scheme because with health insurance you can protect your future.
“Delta State is the number one to take it up and domesticate it, today about 5000 students from this University will be enrolled into the scheme and it has numerous advantages.
“We will return part of the money they are going to pay to the school clinic to enable it upgrade to a standard health care centre and the students will receive their care within the school premises.
“In addition to that, the access card will enable them to be referred for higher treatment anywhere else and it takes care of about 80 per cent the health needs of Deltans.
“You can receive health care in any of the centres with a token of seven thousand naira yearly and the Delta State government is subsidising it.
“Ideally it should have been eighteen thousand naira per person per year and the government have sustained that value,” he said.
Akpoveta said that Delta State government is making arrangements for students to receive treatment as long as they present their access card to the hospital registered by the health insurance outside the state.
“We are working to ensure that every student with access card can receive treatment in hospitals registered by the scheme if they are outside Delta State.
He commended the management of Dennis Osadebe University for being the first to take the initiative, saying “we will be visiting other institutions too”.
Responding, the Vice Chancellor of Dennis Osadebe University, Prof. Ben Emukufia Oghojafor urged all students to enroll and be part of the Contributory Health Insurance Scheme.
Oghojafor who was represented at the ceremony by the Deputy Vice Chancellor Prof. Robert Dode advised student to tap into the huge benefits provided by the insurance scheme.
“The TISHIP security system is a programme where the healthcare of students in tertiary institutions is paid from funds pooled through the contributions of students, with a view to creating conducive learning environment.
“Designed to provide easy access to healthcare for all tertiary institution students, the aim of the TISHIP is to cater for the health needs of tertiary institution students who, due to their studentship, cannot benefit from other health insurance programmes,” he said.
