The Lagos State Government on Tuesday hinted that one percent of its consolidated revenue would henceforth be committed to funding public health, especially for indigent and vulnerable residents.
The state Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, disclosed this during the unveiling of the Lagos State Health Insurance Scheme.
Ambode explained the essence of the health insurance scheme was to address deaths recorded in the state’s hospitals, due largely to paucity of funds, adding that the scheme will provide unhindered access to sustainable, quality and affordable healthcare services which would be accompanied with financial risk protection, including subsidy from the state government.
He said: “To ensure that the indigent and vulnerable persons who are most susceptible to the difficulties of out-of-pocket payments for healthcare, are enrolled into the Lagos State Health Insurance Scheme, we have set aside 1 percent of the state’s consolidated revenue in the 2018 budget for this purpose.
“By law, this scheme is mandatory for all residents of the state. That is the trend nationwide. The process of identifying and registering the beneficiaries has commenced in a number of our developing communities whose residents are mostly indigent.”
“The scheme is compulsory. It is a known fact that out-of-pocket payment for healthcare deters access to health services especially for indigent and other vulnerable persons in our society. This situation contributes to increased morbidity and mortality with the resultant adverse effect on the human capital development and economic prosperity of Lagos”, the governor added.
Ambode, however, said that the state government cannot ensure the success of the scheme and charged critical stakeholders, particularly the partners in the private sector to see the scheme as an effective vehicle to positively impact their communities.
In his remarks, the commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, explained that the poor and vulnerable individuals targeted as beneficiaries of the scheme would be identified through a transparent and scientific means testing exercise which will be carried out periodically.
Idris projected that at the end of the exercise over 15,000 individuals will be enrolled by the scheme for a start.
