Ondo govt targets 500,000 health insurance enrollees

Ondo State Government on Tuesday revealed plans to increase enrollment in the Orange Health Insurance Scheme (ORANGHIS) to almost 500,000 residents, following the successful registration of over 300,000 beneficiaries statewide.

The state Director General of the Contributory Health Commission (ODCHC), Mr. Abiodun Oyeneyin, disclosed this during the Maiden National Summit of State Social Health Insurance Agencies (SSHIAs) held in Akure.

Oyeneyin said the state had continued to make significant progress in health insurance enrolment through various programmes targeted at public servants, the informal sector, vulnerable groups and beneficiaries of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund.

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According to him, “In total, we have over 300,000 enrollees under ORANGHIS. The pronouncement of His Excellency was that we want to extend it to all retirees, and there are about 34,000 retirees in the state, still counting.”

He expressed optimism that the enrolment figure would rise substantially following the government’s decision to include retirees in the scheme.

“We hope that by this time next year, we should be hitting roughly close to 500,000 enrollees, if not more,” he said.

Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa had, during the opening of the summit, announced the inclusion of retirees in the Orange Health Insurance Scheme at no cost, a move aimed at ensuring senior citizens have access to quality healthcare services without financial hardship.

The governor also unveiled a N1 billion Hospital Intervention Fund to support the expansion and modernisation of healthcare facilities across the state, reaffirming his administration’s commitment to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Speaking on efforts to increase participation among private individuals and informal sector workers, Oyeneyin said awareness campaigns and strategic partnerships had continued to drive enrolment.

“We’ve been marketing the product and they’ve been buying it. We even had a collaboration with Stanbic IBTC, where they procured coverage for 1,000 people,” he said.

He added that philanthropic organisations and families had also embraced the scheme, stressing that health insurance remained one of the most effective ways to guarantee access to quality healthcare while protecting residents from catastrophic medical expenses.

“Healthcare is expensive, and health insurance is a good avenue to have certainty of budget and access to quality healthcare across the board,” he said.

The ODCHC boss also highlighted measures being taken to improve drug availability in healthcare facilities across the state, noting that collaboration with the Ondo State Drug and Health Commodities Management Agency had significantly reduced cases of drug shortages.

“The out-of-stock rate has reduced drastically in the state,” he said, adding that a newly commissioned pharma-grade warehouse and improved logistics support would further strengthen healthcare delivery.

He maintained that the summit would provide a platform for stakeholders across the country to develop strategies for expanding health insurance coverage and accelerating the attainment of Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria.