The Director General (DG) of the Delta State Contributory Health Commission, Olorogun Dr. Isaac Akpoveta, has called on private medical practitioners in the state to collaborate with the commission to increase the enrolment of Deltans into the state health insurance scheme.

Olorogun Akpoveta stated this when he received on a courtesy visit, members of the Association of Nigeria Private Medical Practitioners (ANPMP) in his office in Asaba.

The DG said the commission was working on enrolling 80 percent of the population of the state into the scheme in order to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in the state.

He said general hospitals across the country are currently over burdened as human resource for health kept depleting due to brain drain among medical practitioners, adding that more private health facilities needed step up to bridge the gap

He urged private medical practitioners to become advocate of the state health insurance scheme by rendering quality health services to the enrollees in their facilities, providing them with effective drugs, shunning sharp practices and avoiding anything capable of demarketing the scheme, as that would encourage more persons to voluntarily enrol into the scheme and renew their insurance policies.

Dr. Akpoveta advised the association to key into the Access to Finance programme which the commission was successfully running for years now, where citizens in the rural and hard to reach areas were targeted in line with the commitment of the state government in achieving universal health coverage.

The Chairman of ANPMP, Delta State Branch, Dr. Clement Emudainohwo had thanked Governor Oborevwori for galvanising the Sche.e tk achieve more within the short time of taking over the relm of affairs of the state, especially by Iappoiting Dr. Isaac Akpoveta as the DG of the commission, a season and tested health insurance expert.

Dr. Emudainohwo called on the commission to work on increasing the capitation paid to the health facilities, as and when due, increasing tariffs on medical consumables, ensuring prompt payment of fees for services rendered, and allowing private facilities to carryout registration of informal sector enrollees in facilities across the state, even as he solicited the help of the commission to urge all private facilities in the scheme to identify with the ANPMP.

The DG said the commission was working on enrolling 80 percent of the population of the state into the scheme in order to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in the state.