By Nkechinyere Ewa
The Ebonyi State Health Insurance Agency (EBSHIA) says it has increased enrolment under the state health insurance scheme from 32,149 to 166,118 beneficiaries in four years, representing a 417 per cent growth.
The Executive Secretary of the agency Dr Divine Igwe while presenting its four-year performance report for 2023 to 2026, said the achievement reflected the commitment of Governor Francis Nwifuru’s administration to expanding access to affordable and quality healthcare services across the state.
He said the agency had recorded 437,027 healthcare encounters and 549,653 healthcare services utilised within the period, adding that the scheme had helped beneficiaries access medical services without suffering financial hardship. According to him, the enrolment includes 38,322 pregnant women, 39,004 children, 1,007 persons living with disabilities, 15,311 elderly persons and 10,085 civil servants, among other vulnerable groups.
The executive secretary disclosed that the agency had facilitated 33,736 normal deliveries, 2,093 Caesarean sections and 543 assisted deliveries, alongside 855 major surgeries. He added that 226,560 cases of communicable diseases, including malaria, typhoid fever and respiratory tract infections, were treated under the scheme.
He said the agency also screened 35,490 persons for hypertension and 9,697 for diabetes, while managing 2,859 hypertension cases, 768 diabetes cases and 258 heart failure cases. In addition, he disclosed that 484 eye surgeries were performed, 2,065 medicated eyeglasses distributed and 3,865 sickle cell patients managed during the period.
Despite the progress, he said the current enrolment represented only 5.2 per cent of Ebonyi’s estimated 3.2 million population, urging wealthy individuals, philanthropists, religious organisations, political appointees and other stakeholders to support the expansion of the scheme. He appealed to residents to enrol themselves and their families rather than depend solely on government funding.
The executive secretary further disclosed that Governor Nwifuru had directed the agency to enrol an additional 200,000 residents, noting that the exercise would require substantial financial commitment. He explained that at a subsidised premium of N15,000 per person, the proposed expansion would require N3 billion annually.
He also urged philanthropists to consider sponsoring health insurance enrolment for vulnerable people instead of concentrating on one-off free medical outreaches, arguing that sustained insurance coverage would guarantee beneficiaries access to healthcare throughout the coverage period. He said the agency had transformed N3.7 billion in funding received over four years into healthcare services valued at N16.7 billion.
The executive secretary identified inadequate public participation, challenges in enforcing compulsory health insurance and delays in remitting medical fees paid by students of tertiary institutions as some of the challenges facing the scheme. He called on tertiary institution authorities to remit students’ medical fees under the Tertiary Institutions Social Health Insurance Programme (T-SHIP) to enable them benefit from the scheme.
Speaking at the event, Dr Azu Ibiam, EBSHIA consultant, and Elizabeth Ogbaga, chairman of the agency’s board, said the state government had made significant contributions to improving the lives of residents through the health insurance programme. Similarly, Sabenius Nwibo, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Primary Healthcare, urged stakeholders to enrol their families and relatives, assuring residents that accredited hospitals providing services under the scheme were subject to standards that prevented quackery.