Cross River Government has made enrolment in the state Health Insurance Scheme compulsory for all civil and public servants in the state.
The Head of Service, Mr Bassey Okon, announced this in a circular dated Sept. 3, following the official relaunch of the Formal Sector Enrolment Programme of the Cross River State Health Insurance Agency.
According to the circular obtained by News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Calabar, on Friday, the directive takes immediate effect.
Okon stated that the policy was meant to ensure that all the civil and public servants had access to affordable, quality, and timely healthcare services, while strengthening the welfare and productivity of the state workforce.
He directed all the civil and public servants to enrol in the scheme and comply with the registration and documentation requirements of the agency.
The circular also introduced a mandatory requirement for officers to attach valid health insurance enrolment cards to official correspondences relating to personnel matters.
“Correspondences concerning promotion, confirmation of appointment, loan applications, study leave, training or sponsorship, transfer or secondment, as well as other personnel-related requests or benefits, would not be processed without the attachment of a valid health insurance enrolment card,” it stated.
To facilitate the enrolment process, the government established enrolment points at the Office of the Head of Service, New Secretariat, Calabar, and the Ministry of Health, Old Secretariat, Calabar.
Okon directed all Heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to ensure that officers under their supervision were duly informed about the circular and made to comply with the enrolment requirement without delay.
He also urged concerned officers to take advantage of the designated enrolment points for guidance and assistance and to complete their enrolment as required.
He further directed all the heads of the MDAs to bring the contents of the circular to the attention of all civil and public servants under their supervision. (NAN)
