Governor Alex Otti, on Thursday, launched Abia’s Formal Sector Health Insurance Scheme to provide accessible and affordable healthcare for civil servants.

In a speech at the event in Umuahia, Mr Otti affirmed his administration’s commitment to providing quality, accessible and affordable healthcare services.

He said, “Nobody in the new Abia would be denied access to health services for reasons of financial incapacity.”

He also said that the scheme would enable civil servants and their dependants to enrol for round-the-clock quality health services at designated facilities in the state.

“This initiative is structured to drastically reduce out-of-pocket expenditure for individuals in formal sector employment. It will cut down risks and hazards associated with self-medication and create demand for medical services in all the public health facilities in our urban and rural communities,” the governor said.

He said the scheme would go beyond basic medical care to include advanced services, such as surgical, orthopaedic, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology services. He urged all Abia workers in ministries, departments, and agencies to take full advantage of the programme.

The governor noted that the medical outreach programme targets the poor and vulnerable, moving away from outdated models.

The special guest at the ceremony, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, commended Mr Otti for evolving health policies that would improve the quality of health.

Health commissioner Enoch Uche described the scheme as a milestone in Abia’s history, saying that it would be contributory.

“The scheme is a contributory payment with the employee contributing five per cent and government the remaining per cent. In the first six months of the scheme, workers would contribute 2.5 per cent of their basic salaries while government takes care of the remaining 2.5 per cent,” Mr Uche said.

He also said the government had provided N1 billion as a take-off fund. He encouraged civil servants to register immediately to benefit from the programme, saying that the outreach would help to reduce patronage of unqualified medical practitioners.

Earlier, the executive secretary of the Abia State Health Insurance Agency, Chiedozie Egwuonwu, described the initiative as a testament to the Abia government’s commitment to improved healthcare.

(NAN)