Nasarawa Assembly passes health insurance bill into law

Nasarawa state Assembly has passed a bill for a law to provide for the Nasarawa State Health Insurance Scheme 2018 aimed at ensuring that every resident of the state has access to good health care services.
Speaker of the House, Ibrahim Balarabe Abdullahi, announced this yesterday in Lafia, saying the bill which is an executive bill, was aimed to provide mandatory health insurance which will entitle the insured person, his spouse and four children benefit from the scheme and get effective, affordable and minimal cost health care services.
According to him, “the scheme shall be mandatory and apply to all residents of the state except those who have proof of coverage by the National Health Insurance Scheme or other health schemes.” Abdullahi said that the insurance scheme would also protect families from financial hardship of huge medical bills.
He added that the law makes provision for the establishment of the state Health Insurance Agency and Governing Board with the aim to promote, regulate, supervise, implement and ensure effective administration of the scheme.
The speaker commended Governor Umaru Al-Makura for initiating the bill while restating the House’s commitment to continue to enact laws that would have direct bearing on the lives of the people of the state.
The speaker directed the Clerk to the House to produce a clean copy of the bill for the governor’s assent.