>
The Oyo State Health Insurance Agency (OYSHIA) has stepped up its engagement with the Oyo State House of Assembly, business organisationa and artisans in the state on the need to embrace health insurance scheme.
According to the Executive Secretary, OYSHIA, Dr Sola Akande, the agency was working together with the House of Assembly to improve life expectancy of workers in Oyo State.
He revealed that OYSHIA had a meeting with the executives of food vendors and restaurant operators in the state, adding that it also paid visits to the Nigeria Union of Tailors, four private schools and organised private sector on how to enroll their members as part of the agency’s advocacy efforts.
“We will continue to work with the House of Assembly to ensure that all the companies in Oyo State enroll their workers.
“We have a lot of casual workers and the least that can be done is enrolling them on health insurance scheme because you are putting them in front of machines and risking their lives. So we will ensure that they get on board with Oyo State health insurance,” he said.
The OYSHIA boss also disclosed that the agency has engaged Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) in the state through several meetings and trainings with the aim of making them see the gains of enrolling on OYSHIA scheme.
The agency commenced operation in 2017 with the aim of helping enrollees with medical bills. It has enrolled over 200,000 residents since inception with the number growing monthly.
Most enrollees are on the Basic Plan of only N8,000 per annum while others are on other plans which cost more. Other plans take care of major surgeries and other very expensive medical treatments.