The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has taken healthcare to the grassroot in Cross River through its Group, Individual and Family Social Health Insurance Programme (GIFSHIP).
In a stakeholders’ sensitisation programme on Tuesday in Calabar, the State Coordinator of NHIS, Mrs Margaret Moffi, said GIFSHIP was introduced to solve the healthcare needs of Nigerians.
She said the programme was initiated by the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, NHIS, Prof. Mohammed Sambo, to reach communities and the informal sector population “because no one should be left behind in the healthcare system”.
According to her, the whole essence of the programme is to prevent out-of-pocket spending for every Nigerian irrespective of class and status.
“Through GIFSHIP, we try to put people together in a pool to mobilise resources so that they do not need to pay out of pocket or borrow money to service their healthcare needs.
“It has been developed in such a way that every family member, group or individuals can just come together and access healthcare through it.
“As an individual in the informal sector, you can register with NHIS with just N45,000 annually and add two of your friends or family members, which means invariably each of you will be paying N15,000 to access care annually.
“For a family of four, all they require is N60,000 and for those that have up to 10 staff in their establishment, they are required to pay N150,000 annually to access healthcare,” she said.
Moffi also called on politicians to take the opportunity GIFSHIP offered to ensure healthcare for their constituents in their constituency projects.
The programme also involved the presentation of papers on the NHIS reforms, referral processes and claims.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that GIFSHIP is a health insurance scheme that is taken up and paid for by groups, individuals and families not covered by other NHIS coverage platforms.
It was officially launched in Abuja in November 2020 by the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire.
