Plateau State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency ( PLASCHEMA) has sensitised students of the College of Nursing and Midwifery, Vom, on the importance of enrolling into its Tertiary Institution Student Health Insurance Programme (Tship).
The Director – General of PLASCHEMA, Dr. Agabus Manasseh, on Tuesday at the students orientation programme of the college, said the (TShip) would eliminate out-of-pocket expenditure for students, parents and the institutions.
Manasseh was represented at the event by Mr David Wuyep, the agency’s Director for Health Services and Standards Quality.
He said that the essence of the sensitisation was to intimate the leadership of tertiary institutions and the students on the benefits of enrolling into the scheme.
According to him, the Tship premium package, which cost N 12,000 has been subsided by the state government to N 4,000 per annum ( per school session) due to the high premium it places on the students.
The director-general explained that the students would be enrolled at the beginning of each session using the enrollment form at their medical centres.
He said the students would be able use their identification cards to access healthcare for the session and the premium would be renewed every session.
Manasseh said that the plan covers minor surgeries, fractures, high blood pressure, antenatal, malaria, urinary tract infection treatment, amongst others illnesses.
He said that Tship scheme would increase the health insurance uptake and safety social net cover for students.
He described the state’s health agency as the biggest social safety net provided by the state government to eliminate out-of -the pocket expenditure and to improve on the health indices of the people.
The D-G, therefore, called on the public, who were yet to enroll into the scheme, to do so as it also served as a means of financial protection for the enrollees.
Earlier in his remark, Mr Sambo Danlami, Provost of the college, commended the the Agency for the inclusion of students into the scheme, and the government for subsiding the premium for students.
Danlami, said in the past, the college spent out of its pocket to carter for the students health needs.
He said that the scheme would provide relief to the college and students as they wouldn’t have to pay from their pockets when accessing healthcare.
Mr Molwat Longtong, the Student Union vice-president, College of Nursing and Midwifery, Vom, said the the scheme was laudable and enjoined students of the state’s tertiary institutions to enroll into the scheme, saying it would reduce to the barest the issue of out-of-pocket expenditure.(NAN)
