Gombe state introduces contributory health insurance scheme

The government of Gombe State has introduced a contributory health scheme to help residents address out-of-pocket payment for medical bills.

According to the government, the social health programme, which is being managed by the Gombe State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (GoHealth), was part of the state’s efforts to support the global campaign on universal health coverage (UHC).

The agency was established after legislative deliberation and a law that was signed by Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya soon after assuming office in 2019.

Dr. Abubakar Musa, the executive secretary of the agency stated that GoHealth followed the decentralization policy of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) that paved the way for the creation of state social health insurance schemes across the country.

He explained that the aim was to ensure access to effective, qualitative and affordable health care to all residents of the state.

“This was possible through a credible and sustainable mechanism for pooling resources to finance the services, and improve access to better health care with financial risk protection.”

Abubakar stated that, with agencies such as GoHealth, families tend to be protected from the financial hardship that has to do with huge medical bills and reduce or limit the inflationary rise in the cost of health care.

He added that the programme would aid equitable distribution of health care costs across different income groups while also ensuring the provision of a higher standard of health care to the beneficiaries as well as improving and harnessing the private sector’s participation in the provision of health services.

He also me that GoHealth has so far accredited 109 health care providers in the last one year since its establishment in the state and no fewer than 70,000 people are already benefitting from the scheme.

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