Reps Panel Recommends Health Insurance Scheme As Constituency Project

<i>GIFSHIP is a health insurance scheme for people outside the formal sector of the economy.</sub>

The House of Representatives Committee on Healthcare Services has endorsed the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nhis.gov.ng/">National Health Insurance Scheme's (NHIS)</a> group, individual, family, social health insurance programme (GIFSHIP) for constituency projects.

GIFSHIP is a health insurance scheme for people outside the formal sector of the economy.

The Chairman of the Committee, Tanko Sununu, gave the endorsement Wednesday during the budget defence of the NHIS.

Mr Tanko said the lawmakers should include GIFSHIP as part of the constituent projects, noting that constituents above 60years should be targeted.

He noted that the committee is endorsing the initiative because it is flexible and can allow lawmakers to select beneficiaries.

"We are calling on members of the National Assembly to take advantage of this opportunity,"

Mr Mohammed Sambo, executive secretary of NHIS, said with N15 million, a lawmaker can cover 1,000 beneficiaries.

"If you're a philanthropist, you can pay like N15 million and cover over one thousand people. If you pay N30 million, you can cover two thousand people", he said.

The committee also queried the utilisation of the funds released to the agency in the 2020 appropriations Act.

According to Mr Sununu, the agency utilised N140 million out of the N144 million released to it.

Mr Sambo disclosed that the balance was rolled over to the 2021 budget.