From Noah Ocheni, Lokoja
The Executive Secretary, Kogi State Health Insurance Agency (KGSHIA), Dr Aledare Adewale said the state has concluded plans to enroll students under the state’s Tertiary Institution Contributory Health Insurance Programme (TICHIP).
Dr. Adewale who disclosed this at a sensitisation meeting with the Heads of Kogi tertiary institutions, held at the State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, on Friday in Lokoja stressed that the gesture was part of the government’s commitment to improving quality healthcare delivery of students.
Adewale noted that the TICHIP was a model of KGSHIA, designed for students of the state owned and private tertiary institutions to improve their access to quality health services through their pooled contributions.
He explained that the programme would protect students and their families from financial hardship of huge medical bills, and guaranteed greater funding for the tertiary institutions’ health centres to improve their services to deserving people.
The executive secretary added that the TICHIP would also transform the institutions’ sick bays from mere consulting centres to patient centres with all the requisites manpower and infrastructure for qualitative health services.
He noted that the TICHIP would be funded by the mandatory premium contributions of N2,000 per student annually, to be paid into a dedicated TICHIP account in each institution.
According to him, the premium contribution replaces the institutional medical fees charged by various institutions, but does not cover the cost of pre-admission entry medical check.
He noted that the TICHIP stakeholders included: Tertiary Institutions and their supervising Ministries, Students Unions, KGSHIA, NHIS, and the Participating Healthcare Facilities (HCFs), respectively.
Earlier, the state’s Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr. Wemi Jones, who declared the meeting open, thanked all the stakeholders for their presence.
The commissioner who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Pastor Emmanuel Idenyi, reiterated the commitment of Gov. Yahaya Bello, to revamping education while improving quality healthcare service delivery across the state.
The commissioner urged the heads of institutions to collaborate with KGSHIA and other stakeholders in ensuring that students have access to quality health services.
Also speaking, Dr Gabriel Ottah, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Science and Technology, commended the Governor for prioritizing the health of the people of Kogi especially the students.
