The Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) Kaduna State Chapter, on Monday commended the State Government for providing health insurance cover to the more than 16,000 pensioners in the state.
The secretary of the union, Alhaji Alhassan Musa, made the commendation while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna.
Musa described the development as “very thoughtful”, adding that with the insurance cover, pensioners would no longer spend all their monthly stipends on medical bills.
He explained that under the arrangement, pensioners would be required to pay only three per cent of their monthly pension, while the government covered the remaining 97 per cent of health care costs.
He said that the pensioners health insurance scheme was introduced by the Kaduna State Contributory Health Management Authority (KADCHMA) in collaboration with the Kaduna State Pension Bureau.
“This is a good development for all pensioners in the state and we welcome it with all our hearts as another strategy of taking care of the aged population in the state,” he said.
The secretary said that the union had, however, requested that the pensioners be enroled in secondary health facilities or any health facility of their choice.
“This is because the major ailments of aged people are diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, sight problem, and prostate among others.
“These are illnesses that are better managed at secondary or tertiary health facilities,” he said.
On his part, the Director-General, KADCHMA, Malam Abubakar Hassan, said that the measure would lift the burden of out-of-pocket spending on health from pensioners in the state.
Hassan explained that the initiative was part of KADCHMA effort to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure on health services in line with the goals of the Universal Health Coverage.
He urged the private sector to take advantage of the health insurance scheme and enroll their families to enjoy affordable healthcare services without exposing them to financial risk.
Similarly, the Executive Secretary, Kaduna State Pension Bureau, Prof. Salamatu Isah, said that the insurance scheme would enable pensioners to direct their little income to other basic needs.
“This in the long run, will improve the quality of their lives,” she added.
