The Nigerian Medical Association has appealed to the Delta State Government to suspend the state Contributory Health Scheme until the scheme is gazetted in line with the enabling laws establishing it.
NMA also demanded the refund of deductions made by the state government from civil servants August salaries, stressing that government was not ready for the commencement of the programme.
In a communiqué issued on Wednesday, the state chairman and secretary of the NMA, Dr. Cletus Otene and Dr. Omo Ekene, described the August deductions as illegal.
They noted that the implementation of the scheme was at the detriment of civil servants when they had not been enrolled for the exercise before the alleged deductions. A copy of the communiqué obtained by The PUNCH on Wednesday in Asaba called on the state government to put all necessary measures in place before implementing the scheme.
“The law specified that before the scheme can become operational, it should be gazzeted which has yet to be done. Deductions were commenced without any operational manual for the scheme, hence members do not know what their responsibilities and entitlements are in the scheme.
“The scheme covers medical services access within the state, hence members we have to pay for medical if they fall ill outside the state.
“The first contact most our members had with the scheme was the deduction of contributions from August salary. That deduction was made without the consent of members or the association.”
Responding to a text enquiry, the Chairman, Governing Board, Delta State Contributory Health Commission, Dr. Isaac Akpoveta, said, “The core benefit of all Deltans is the ability to access quality healthcare at available cost. The scheme protects the enrollees from financial hardship at the point of care.”
He however did not respond to the allegation of deduction before enrolment as of the time of filing this report.
By: Ovie Okpare, Warri
The Punch News
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