The call has again be made for more participation of citizens in the Lagos Health Insurance Scheme managed by the Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA).
Former Chairman House Committee on Health Services Hon. Avoseh Hodewu Suru, made the call on Saturday at the JJF Park, Alausa, Lagos, during the health work out organised by LASHMA, to commemorate this year’s health week.
Avoseh, who is now Commissioner Lagos State Civil Service Ccommission, headed the committee that gave birth to the agency in 2015, said the scheme is aimed at ensuring that quality healthcare is made available to all.
He explained that LASHMA was the state’s response to domesticating the national health scheme, in order to ensure that health is made available to all at the most affordable cost.
The lawmaker however cautioned that the agency must continue to ensure the scheme continue to work for the people for whom it was designed, and not be short changed by Health Management Organisations (HMO) or health providers, who are offering their services under their scheme.
He equally explained that the payable premiums is not like contributions which you would hopefully collect at the end of the year, adding that the monies would go into a common pool to be made available to anyone who needed funds to access healthcare anywhere in the state.
Avoseh said: “I have had cause to call the General Manager on some infractions we have observed, where people who are under the scheme are denied drugs under the guise that the drugs are not available for them. This should not be.
The scheme must be made to work for the people, this is the only way to achieve the health for all.
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He said: “Earlier the Chairman LASHMA’s Board Dr Adetokunbo Alakija urged Lagosians to massively embrace the health scheme.He said LASHMA will strive to ensure that healthcare is made available to everyone in line with the mandate of the Governor Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu whose desire is to make healthcare available to the masses of the people.
“LASHMA is out to ensure that government succeeds in the Healthcare in line with the THEMES Agenda of the government and we would continue to appeal to our people to embrace this initiative which has proved to make health available to all”, Dr Alakija said.
He said all civil servants in the state are already captured in the scheme and urged all to join to ensure that the state leads in the advocacy to capture all in the universal health care.
The health advocacy saw many drawn from several HMOs, civil society and other members of the society participate in aerobics, and Salsa dance exercises to tune their bodies.The LASHMA workers were led to the park by the the General Manager Dr Emmanuella Zamba.
Other guests at the event are the representatives of the Commissioner for Health, and Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on health Dr Ore Finnih, Dr Adetokunbo Alakija, among others.
Several HMOs as well as EkoTeleMed were also in attendance.