The Bayelsa Health Insurance Scheme (BHIS) says it has so far enrolled some 108,156 persons in less than two years of its commencement.

The BHIS said on Monday that having covered the public servants, plans have reached advanced stages to commence enrolment of the private and informal sectors in the scheme.

Dr Zuoboemi Agadah, Executive Secretary of BHIS who gave the figures during his opening remarks at the BHIS Enrollees Forum, said that some 5,000 retirees were already enjoying services under the scheme.

According to Agadah, civil servants in the state started receiving quality medical care at no extra cost apart from the two per cent of their consolidated salaries deducted at source from September 2017.

He said that following the scheme had contributed significantly to safer deliveries amongst civil servants and reduced infant mortality rates as the rate of hospital patronages by expectant mothers has also improved.

Agadah said that the BHIS organised the interactive session with enrollees to get feedback from the beneficiaries with a view to improving their overall experience adding that the BHIS had earlier met with healthcare providers for the same purpose.

He explained that the State Government established the governance structure where the BHIS appointed a Third Party Administrator, United Healthcare International, to run the scheme through accredited healthcare providers in Bayelsa.

The BHIS Executive Secretary disclosed that the agency had accredited some 80 healthcare providers before take-off, adding that efforts are underway to commence re-accreditation of facilities of healthcare providers in the state.

Prof Onyanye Kunle-Olowu, Chairperson of BHIS, noted that organisation has intervened in the healthcare situation in the state by ensuring that the contributions paid by enrollees were managed to provide services to those in need.

She said that in 2018, more than 900 surgeries were carried out on enrollees by accredited healthcare providers while the scheme picked the bills.

Kunle-Olowu enjoined the enrollees to feel free to share their experiences to enable the scheme play its regulatory role and improve on the scheme.

She said: “We have had encouraging testimonies from beneficiaries who have had surgeries and caesarean sections without paying an extra kobo apart from the premium paid by the enrollee, which covers spouse and four biological children.

“Like everything human, we are not yet perfect, there are bound to be issues and we appeal to enrollees to bring their experiences to us.

“We have acquired toll-free telephone lines to ensure that we get instant complains whenever there is an issue, we have set up the necessary framework to provide quality healthcare to our enrollees that take ill.

“And from available data, about 14 per cent of our enrollees have attended hospitals to access services without making any kind of out of pocket payment at the hospitals.

“The contributions deducted from enrollees salaries are used to take care of the cost of treatment of any enrollee or his dependant that falls sick.”

Dr Kazeem Mustapha, Executive Director of United Healthcare, the administrator of the scheme, coordinated the interactive session with enrollees expressing delight that the scheme has reduced the financial burden of healthcare.

Mr Obene Zuowefa, who shared her experience, said that she recently had successful surgery at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital and soon after recovery was diagnosed with acute appendicitis which required another surgery.

“I want to express gratitude to this Bayelsa Health Insurance Scheme; I paid not even a kobo for the two surgeries. If not for this, only God knows what the situation would have been because my salary cannot cope,” Zuowefa said

Also, Mrs Blessing Emera, another civil servant, said that she also benefited from the scheme when she underwent surgery in September 2018 at one of the accredited hospitals and had her bills settled by BHIS.

However, Mr Daniel Orukari, who works at Bayelsa Government Treasury, and some other companies that the accredited hospitals often claimed that most of the recommended drugs were either not available or not covered by the scheme.

Responding, Agadah, the Executive Secretary, explained that the scheme, modelled after the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), approved a list of generic drugs to be dispensed to enrollees.

He said that part of the requirements for accreditation of healthcare providers was the maintenance of a pharmacy stocked with essential drugs on the BHIS list.

Agadah threatened to delist any accredited facility found wanting as the BHIS pays a monthly capitation fee of N43 million to the accredited hospitals even if no enrollee turns up in addition to the medical bills of beneficiaries that fall sick.