Health Insurance: LASG sets agenda on grassroots sensitisation for massive enrollment of Lagosians
By Moses Adeniyi
The Lagos State Government (LASG) has unleashed new agenda for the enrollment of larger percentage of Lagosians under the State designed Health Insurance Scheme tagged “Ilera Eko”.
With the agenda, the Government envisions bringing no less than 15 per cent of the State’s residents within a close succession, under the scheme through elaborate civic engagement at the grass-roots.
In a press conference at Ikeja, the State Capital on Wednesday, to herald the sensitisation, Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor, on Civic Engagement, Princess Aderemi Adebowale, said the process would be routed through collaboration with the Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA) for the commencement of vigorous engagement at the grassroots.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Office of Civic Engagement, Mr. Kayode Ogunubi, the Special Adviser said the sensitisation on the Lagos State Health Insurance Scheme (Ilera Eko) tagged “Ilera Eko Grassroots Sensitization & Enrollment Drive” would be taken across the 20 Local Government Areas of the State, “with the aim of promoting Ilera Eko Health plan and also scale up enrolment of Lagos residents on the Scheme.”
She mentioned that the initiative is in line with the Policy thrust – THEMES AGENDA – of the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu led Administration, to vitalise the State’s health system, adding that the Governor has intensified investment on human and infrastructure capacities to reform the State’s health sector.
“As you are very familiar with, the 2nd Pillar in the developmental plan of the administration of Mr. Governor. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, as encapsulated in the T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda is on health and the environment, all around the globe, health remains on the priority list of every government at all levels, and therefore our dear State cannot afford to be an exception. A healthy nation, it is said, is a wealthy nation.
“This is the reason the administration of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu is focused on ensuring that all the residents of Lagos State, have access to quality, equitable and affordable healthcare regardless of their socio-cultural and economic status, towards the attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in our State.
“This has necessitated the government to embark on the building and renewal of health facilities all round the State and the continuous initiation and promotion of various intervention programmes that include the Lagos State Health Insurance Schemes also known as ‘ILERA EKO’.
“There is no doubt that Health Insurance is new in Nigeria but the journey of Health Insurance in Lagos State started over six years ago with the signing of the Lagos State Health Law in 2015, while access to care commenced in 2020,” the Special Adviser said.
She added that the sensitisstion is to encourage more people, especially at the grassroots, to embrace the Insurance Policy facilitated by the Administration.
The intention according to her, is to deliver the “Lagos State Health Insurance Scheme to the citizens and for the people to own the programme with a view to making it resoundingly successful.”
“It is given in democracy that Governance is all about the people and this initiative is for the people. The Office of Civic Engagement as part of its mandates to interface between the Government and the Citizens of Lagos State is therefore in collaboration with LASHMA, the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the scheme in organising this sensitisation drive,” she said.
The General manager, Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA), Dr. Emmanuella Zamba, said the scheme which have been designed with affordable and reliable system of health care provisions has the objective of reaching out to larger percentage of Lagos residents.
She disclosed that the Agency commenced conversation with the State’s Office of Civic Engagement to bring the message to the grassroots on the benefits of the “quantitative and affordable” health insurance scheme.
According to her, the scheme has health plans which ranges from N8,500 for individuals to N40,000 for a family of six, while there are other decentralised plans made to make the scheme more affordable to residents.
She added that those enrolled under the scheme would be given broad coverage of about 80 percent on illnesses under the scheme, which according to her extend to as far as laboratory tests and surgeries.
The General Manager mentioned that structures have been put in place to boost accessibility by taking the course of sensitisation across all local government areas with architectures of divisional channels “to ensure the scheme is quantitatively available for a universal health coverage.”
Disclosing that no less than 527,000 people have been captured under the scheme presently, she said about 222 health facilities – public and private – are enlisted under the scheme, while the Agency aims presently at bringing about 15 per cent of the Lagos population under the scheme within a short period.
According to her, there are flexible payment plans on a monthly basis tagged “Ilera Eko Pay Small-Small” which offers provision for as low as a N1,000 for access to healthcare.
She said against complaints of irresponsiveness, service delivery have been improved drastically with reforms within the State’s primary and secondary health service delivery, adding that customers’ services structures have been instituted to improve service provision.
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