Anambra State Health Insurance Agency (ASHIA), has disclosed plans to open offices in markets across the state to make enrollment easier and more accessible to traders
The Executive Secretary of the agency, Dr. Augustine Ezeka, made this known when he led a team from the agency to visit the executives of the Anambra State Amalgamated Traders Association (ASMATA) at their headquarters in Onitsha.
Dr. Ezeka, who spoke on the operations and benefits of ASHIA, pointed out that the agency decided to visit ASMATA to make its plans known because they observed that it might not be convenient for most traders to travel to Awka to enroll in the scheme.
He intimated that the purpose of the visit agency was to seek the permission and cooperation of ASMATA before embarking on the project.
The ASHIA Executive Secretary further informed that each major market would nominate one person who would serve as an ASHIA Desk Officer after undergoing proper training, adding that such officers would receive monthly remunerations.
Dr. Ezeka made it clear that health insurance is the surest way of achieving universal health coverage, stating that the annual premium for enrollment in ASHIA is N12,000, while the identity card costs N500.
He explained that both young and old are eligible to register and benefit from the agency’s numerous healthcare packages.
Head of the Business Development and Marketing Department of ASHIA, Mrs. Nneoma Anoliefo, also threw more light on the activities of the agency, and expressed optimism that the collaboration between ASHIA and ASMATA would yield positive results, describing ASHIA as one of the best-performing government agencies.
Earlier, the President-General of ASMATA, Chief Humphrey Anuna, thanked the ASHIA team for the visit and assured them of the association’s willingness to collaborate with the agency to ensure that more traders enroll and benefit from the scheme,
Speaking also, a market leader, and Chairman of the Old and New Motorcycle Spare Parts Market Nkpor, Chief Stephen Onungene, commended ASHIA for the initiative testifying that some of his relatives have been benefiting from the health program.
