Plans are underway by Kogi Government to enrol students under the state’s Tertiary Institution Contributory Health Insurance Programme (TICHIP), as part of its commitment to improving quality healthcare delivery in the state.
Executive Secretary, Kogi State Health Insurance Agency (KGSHIA), Dr Aledare Adewale, said this at a sensitisation meeting with the Heads of Kogi tertiary institutions, on Friday in Lokoja.
Adewale noted that the TICHIP was a model designed for students of the state-owned and private tertiary institutions to improve their access to quality health services.
According to him, TICHIP is a social security programme designed to take care of the health of students of tertiary institutions through their pooled contributions.
He explained that the programme would protect students and their families from financial hardship due to huge medical bills as well as guarantee greater funding for tertiary institutions’ health centres to improve their services.
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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).
Earlier, the state’s Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Wemi Jones, who declared the meeting open, thanked all the stakeholders for their attendance.
He reiterated Gov. Yahaya Bello’s commitment to revamping education while improving quality healthcare service delivery across the state.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr Emmanuel Idenyi, the commissioner urged the heads of institutions to collaborate with KGSHIA and other stakeholders in ensuring that students had access to quality health services.
Also, Dr Gabriel Ottah, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Science and Technology, commended the governor for prioritising the health of the people of Kogi especially, students.
Some of the heads of institutions and their representatives at the meeting commended the government for the health initiative for the students and pledged their support for the programme.