FCT Insurance Scheme Covers Cancer Treatment, Orthopaedic Procedures
Considering the increasing cost of medical services, the minister Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Muhammad Musa Bello has ordered that the FCT Health Insurance Scheme (FHIS) be widened to cover ailments such as cancer or orthopaedic procedures that require huge money to treat.
The minister also asked the manager of the scheme to allow the enrollees, the option of paying more for wider coverage in a move that will grow the scheme and improve their services.
The Minister spoke at a meeting with the FHIS Director, Dr Ahmed Danfulani and his management team during the presentation of the Working Documents of the Scheme that was prepared over a period of two years.
Considering that in Nigeria in an all-too common scenario, many patients and their families, particularly low income earners, regard a cancer diagnosis as a death sentence due to the high cost of treatment.
The Minister pointed that one of the mandates given to the FCT Administration by President Muhammadu Buhari was to widen the health insurance coverage of FCT residents, hence he urged the FHIS management to ensure that the scheme succeeds because, payment for health services all at once either by individuals or even the government is no longer tenable, considering the ever increasing cost of medical services especially for diseases such as cancer or orthopedic procedures
Bello said “you have to work out a system so that certain diseases can be covered. If for instance someone is diagnosed with cancer, how can he or she pay for it?
“Cancer treatment, even the medication alone or chemotherapy alone, costs a lot of money not to talk of radiotherapy or surgery for some orthopedic cases”.
While calling on the FHIS team to develop a robust publicity strategy in order to meet its objectives, he also urged the management of the scheme to work out a system that will take care of the aged in society.
He said “you have to work out a system to make sure that the aged pay only a reasonable amount of money to get good quality healthcare because they have served the country and the FCT, so it is now the duty of the country to take care of them”
Director of the FCT Insurance Scheme Danfulani, while presenting the Working Documents to the Minister, explained that the documents were prepared over a period of two years and will guide the everyday operations and activities of the scheme.
The documents presented include the “FHIS Standard Treatment Guideline and Referral Protocol” which is designed to ensure that patients are aware of the full extent of treatment they are entitled to.
Also presented to the Minister is the “Operational Guideline of the FHIS” which according to Dr Danfulani “describes in detail every step that we need to take in any of our actions, including registrations of healthcare providers, registration of HMOs, their roles, our roles, punitive measures to be taken when they err and so on”
Present at the event was the Chief of Staff to the FCT Minister, Malam Bashir Mai-Bornu, the Director, Department of Human Resources Management, Dr Bashir Muhammed, the Ag General Manager, FCTA Hospitals Management Board, Dr Francis Alu, the Ag Director, Department of Reform Coordination and Service Improvement, Dr Jumai Ahmadu and other senior staff of the FCTA.
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