The Federal Government on Friday concluded plans to enroll all serving Corps members in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS)to ensure access to qualitative healthcare during their service year.
This followed a Presidential directive on evolving measures that would enhance access to qualitative healthcare for the Corps members.
Speaking during a meeting of the National Youth Service Corps NYSC and the NHIS at the NYSC Directorate Headquarters in Abuja, the Director General of the scheme, Brig-General Suleiman Kazaure who welcomed the idea, said that the NYSC Management was already nursing similar idea.
He noted that the innovation would help advance Corps welfare policy of the Scheme.
The Director-General also threw his weight behind the proposal by NHIS to make direct payment to hospitals noting that payment through an HMO led to the failure of a previous initiative by the NYSC on enrollment of Corps members several years ago.
He, however, appealed to the NHIS to ensure that the Corps members enjoy comprehensive services instead of the present situation where many healthcare providers claim that the NHIS does not cover certain healthcare needs.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary NHIS, Professor Usman Yusuf said the NHIS officials would go to all camps during Orientation course to capture biometric data of Corps members as a first step in the process of enrolment.
He explained that, as Corps members get posted to places of primary assignment, the NHIS would assign each of them to a hospital where they would be getting treatment in the event of illness.
The Executive Secretary also said that the agency had made proposal to government to enable it make direct payments to hospitals that would renders healthcare services to the Corps members instead of doing so through the Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs).
This, he said, was to avoid hitches often occasioned by failure of some HMOs to make appropriate payments to the hospitals.
The Executive Secretary also announced plans to deploy Corps members posted to the NHIS for primary assignment to its Desk Offices that would be established in all hospitals nationwide.
“The Desk Officers will be there to serve as advocates for the enrollees and for them to be our ears and eyes in the hospitals.
“They have direct access to me. So if there are problems in the hospitals; with the doctors or the nurses, if they are not treated well or the HMOs are not paying them, they know who to get to,” he added.
He further explained that the planned deployment of Corps members to the Desk Offices was part of several measures the agency would be taking to ensure their effective utilisation.