The Cross River State Health Insurance Agency (CRSHIA) has welcomed the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) partnership to expand health insurance coverage and improve healthcare service delivery to residents of the state.
The Director-General of Cross River State Health Insurance Agency (CRSHIA), Chief Godwin Iyala, expressed the agency’s readiness to deepen collaboration with the NMA when the association’s state chairman, Dr. Pius Agweye, led members of his executive on a courtesy visit to the agency on Monday at its headquarters in Calabar.
Iyala said the partnership would provide an opportunity for both organisations to work together towards extending health insurance coverage to more residents and improving the quality of services available to enrollees.
“The health insurance scheme in Cross River has continued to grow in leaps and bounds through the support of His Excellency, Governor Bassey Edet Otu, and his wife, Bishop Eyoanwan Otu, who is the ambassador of the scheme in the state,” he said.
He said the recent policy of the state government making health insurance enrolment a requirement for promotion and access to credit facilities for civil servants was a clear demonstration of the administration’s commitment to strengthening health insurance in the state.
“The recent policy making health insurance enrolment a requirement for promotion and access to credit facilities for civil servants is a perfect example of how committed the Governor Otu-led administration is to strengthening health insurance for Cross Riverians and residents in the state,” Iyala stated.
The CRSHIA helmsman described the NMA and medical doctors as “a critical mass in the health insurance ecosystem,” stressing that their active participation was essential to expanding coverage and improving healthcare delivery.
He described the renewed partnership as timely and necessary, noting that closer collaboration with medical practitioners would strengthen the relationship between healthcare providers, the agency and enrollees.
Earlier, the NMA Chairman, Dr. Pius Agweye, said greater synergy between the two bodies was necessary to bring the desired benefits of health insurance closer to residents.
“We believe that this synergy between the NMA and CRSHIA is necessary to bring the desired benefits of health insurance to the people of Cross River State,” Agweye said.
He thanked the CRSHIA leadership for the warm reception accorded the delegation and expressed the association’s willingness to work closely with the agency to further advance the health insurance programme.
Agweye said the NMA was committed to supporting efforts aimed at expanding health insurance coverage and moving Cross River State towards universal health coverage.
The meeting was attended by officials and senior management staff of CRSHIA, with both organisations expressing commitment to sustained engagement and collaboration towards expanding access to quality healthcare for residents of the state.
By Kingsley Agim
