PLASCHEMA Enrolled 107,873 Health Insurance Scheme Beneficiaries
By Daniel Agada,Jos
Plateau State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (PLASCHEMA), has enrolled about 107,873 beneficiaries into the health insurance scheme since the inception of the agency in 2019.
The agency expressed worry with the number of enrollees so far it’s watch list, taking into cognisance the Plateau population of over 4 million.
Director general of PLASCHEMA, Dr.Fabong Jemchang who raised concern over the development said there is a need for paradigm shift in terms of creating awareness to the populace to key into the scheme.
Jemchang who was speaking during an interface with the media held in Crest Hotel Jos, titled:”decentralizing information for inclusive participation in both health insurance.”
He said decentralizing information is the best model for inclusion towards universal health coverage which the media plays a vital role.
He acknowledged that the agency would constantly engaging the media in the realization of inclusive health insurance participation, especially at the rural communities.
Discussant at the one day PLASCHEMA media engagement, the director of News and Current affairs department, Plateau Radio Television Corporation (PRTVC) Mr. Yakubu Taddy have stated that, to decentralize health insurance information from the urban areas and corporate sectors there is a needs for clear indication of how many people are enrolled in the scheme and what sector they belong to.
He said, “when there is a proper record of people who are enrolled and adequate feedback from beneficiaries it will be easy to know the gaps that need to be filled.”
He also observed that the use of local language and simple grammar will go a long way in getting the message to the grassroots.
Speaking on PLASCHEMA participatory models Solomon Kwakfut stated that the democratizing health insurance scheme across the nocks crannies of the 17 Local Government Areas of Plateau is very key.
According to statistics provided by the Director of Operations PLASCHEMA, Dr. Kwande Dawal the number of beneficiaries of the scheme is over a hundred thousand which includes 54,000 state civil servants, 18,129 local civil servants, 542 staff from four private organizations, 546 and 414 persons from informal sectors.
It is on that note that participants were tasked to provide models that will aid people in rural areas and informal sectors to register under the health insurance scheme.
Some of the models suggested include the life of coverage of the agencies activities, enrolment of key stakeholders in various local communities, broadcasting jingles and short drama in local dialects, involving traditional councils, awareness during medical outreach and community programs, use of religious publication and community newspaper, involving beneficiaries in health programs and interviews for every medium and tracking down activities of all stakeholders.
