Ayade considering the general populace with healthcare initiative – Iyala

Emmanuel Alfred

Sir Godwin Iyala, The Director-General, Cross River Heath Insurance Agency, has maintained that the entrenchment of health insurance in the State by His Excellency, Sen Prof Ben Ayade is for the best interest of the public.

Iyala, who made this known while headlining the National Health Insurance Authority sensitisation workshop recently in Calabar, argued that considering how expensive healthcare services are, residents’ buying-in to the scheme should be a no-brainer.

He urged all residents of the State to enroll in the Cross River State Health Insurance Scheme, otherwise known as ‘AYADECARE,’ and described the health insurance as a “money saver” for the enrollees and a “platform towards universal health coverage.”

The CRSHIA boss enthused that the State health Insurance Scheme boasts the most robust ‘benefit package’ in the country, hinting that with a fine-tuned governance architecture and access to care in place, the Cross River State Health Insurance Scheme highlights the ongoing health revolution in Nigeria.

He lauded the National Health Insurance Authority for setting in place modalities for the seamless coverage of all enrollees of the programme across the State.

In her remarks, Cross River State Coordinator, National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mrs. Margaret Moffi, said that the new health act recently signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari in May 2022, has made health insurance mandatory for all Nigerians.

She noted that NHIA has initiated programmes to ensure that state governments are in conformity with the activities of the Authority.
“We expect to see State Governments and other top government officials coming up to get the group, individual, family, and social health insurance programme for their constituents.

Stakeholders at the sensitisation workshop included medical practitioners from tertiary and secondary institutions, military/para-military personnel amongst others