Gombe To Enhance Health Care Through Contributory Scheme

The social health programme launched in 2021, by Gov. Inuwa Yahaya, known as Gombe State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency, is mandated with the task to attain universal health coverage in the state.
At the initial stage of the programme, 25,000 poor and vulnerable people were enrolled for free healthcare, under the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF), a Federal Government intervention, requiring counterpart funding from the state government.
It was later scaled up to accommodate civil servants from the formal sector, as well as informal sector on the payment of a token for enrollment.
Recently Gov. Inuwa Yahaya launched GoHealth mobile application, which makes it easier for beneficiaries and intending enrollees to access service in the comfort of their rooms.
According to the Governor, GoHealth insurance programme is providing Gombe State civil servants with subsidised healthcare services which will subsequently enhance workers’ welfare and improve their productivity.
He said in 2022, the state government will enroll additional 40,000 poor and vulnerable alongside the 25,000 earlier enrolled under BHCPF.
He further called on those that are yet to register under the informal sector, to take advantage of the programme.
Some of the enrollees of the programme described the scheme as “life saving.”
Dr Abubakar Musa, Team Lead of GoHealth, said the agency was established by Gombe State Government in 2019. According to him, the agency was established in line with the decentralisation policy of the National Health Insurance Scheme, that paved way for establishment of states’ Social Health Insurance Scheme in Nigeria.
Musa said that so far, the agency has enrolled 63, 320 persons from the BHCPF, formal and informal sectors and they are still expecting more people to be enrolled.
He said for the formal sector, 3.5 per cent of their gross salaries is being deducted monthly for the scheme, covering five dependents under them, spouse and four biological children, and he can enroll additional dependent for N9,000 per person.
He said for the informal sector, is N10,000 for a person and per annum, with no dependent.
The Team Lead said the agency has accredited 109 facilities , that would be providing services to beneficiaries. Out of the number, 52 are primary healthcare facilities, 53 secondary facilities and for tertiary facilities.