Mr Onah Raphael, Chairman, Deidei Building Materials Market, Abuja, on Saturday sought education on health insurance scheme for traders.
Raphael made the call at the market sensitisation/awareness programme, organised by the FCT Health Insurance Scheme (FHIS) to encourage the informal sector to register.
The chairman, particularly, called for a town hall meeting between traders and officials of the FHIS, adding that, “the idea will give better knowledge on the scheme.”
According to him, Deidei market is a big market, splinted into five places and the meeting with the traders, along with a robust presentation, will give more knowledge about benefits of health insurance.
“Many do not know what health insurance is, the town hall meeting will give them insight, we will follow up on payments of those interested.
“An independent insurance company has come here before, but this is government owned, which we know , will be cheaper and affordable, many will be willing to register for this.
“We will provide a stand in the market, where people can easily access the FHIS, instead of going to their office,” Raphael said.
Also, Mrs Deborah Jai, a Market Manager, welcomed the idea of health insurance by government, adding that, she would encourage their contract staff to register for the scheme.
Earlier, Dr Amina Zakari, Deputy Director, Operation Unit, FHIS, gave the traders a run down of the scheme, adding that, there were a lot of services to benefit from, with just N13, 500.
“Health insurance is a social insurance scheme to carter for medical needs of FCT residents, we have over 200 facilities around Nigeria.
“We also work in agreement with our enrollee, in case they are unable to pay the N13, 500 yearly payment at once, we have a unified plan.
“We make provisions for those that want more than our package, which we call vital contributors,” Zakari said.