By Marie-Therese Nanlong

Jos – Politicians in Plateau State seeking elective offices in the 2023 general elections have been urged to prioritize the health needs of the people by keying into the available health insurance scheme and procuring premiums for the people.

The call came on the heels of the discovery that only about one percent of citizens of the State have keyed into the health insurance scheme due to different factors hence the need for the politicians to take the lead and give the people access to quality and affordable healthcare services.

The Director-General of the Plateau State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency, PLASCHEMA, Dr. Fabong Jemchang who spoke in Jos at the weekend during an interface with the media on securing community sustainability, the media experience emphasized the need for serving and would be political office holders to enroll the people into the scheme especially those in the informal sector.

Jemchang noted it was economically viable to enroll a good number of people on the scheme with little resources rather than trying to meet the health needs of the people individually via the payment of huge hospital bills.  

He commended the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Idris Maje, the late Statistician-General, Simon Harry, and a few others who bought premium for the people and charged others to emulate the gesture for the good of the downtrodden.

According to him, “… apart from the Deputy Speaker, no other legislator either in the National or State Assembly has seen it necessary to buy health insurance premium for their constituents.

“The importance of health insurance cannot be overemphasized, it protects the beneficiaries from unexpectedly high costs for healthcare. It is expected that the politicians would on their own see the need to take advantage of the scheme to meet the health needs of their constituents but that is not the case.

“We have visited them in the National and State Assemblies several times, we have discussed with them, given them the forms, but no response. Only Maje has bought the form for his people, others kept promising despite the series of follow-ups.

“The scheme is a creation of the law, it is an irony that the legislators don’t believe in what they were instrumental in creating. How can you create something you don’t believe in?

“The media is a strong and powerful instrument of persuasion, it can influence and condition the minds of the people to begin to demand from their representatives; things like the health insurance which has a direct impact on their lives.”

The DG however disclosed that plans are underway to ensure older citizens like pensioners are enrolled in the scheme even as he announced a premium for journalists in the State.

Meanwhile, the event aimed to create awareness for the public to embrace the scheme as the DG insisted that there is no sustainability without partnership with relevant stakeholders.