The Military Health Management Limited (DHML) has enrolled more than 110,000 retired officers of the Armed Forces across all states, into the military free health insurance scheme.
The Managing Director of Military Health Management Limited (DHML), Rear Admiral Azeez Bello Afolayan (rtd), revealed this during a one-day interactive meeting held at the DHML headquarters in Abuja with various veteran groups.
The groups included the Nigerian Legion, Retired Members of the Nigerian Armed Forces, Association for Ex-Service Pension, Ex-Servicemen Association, Ex-Servicemen and Welfare Association Masaka, Foundation for Retired Military Personnel, Foundation for Care and Support Veterans, Coalition of Concern Veterans, Retired Navy and Air Force Keffi, Nasarawa State, among others.
Rear Admiral Afolayan said the aim of the meeting was to enlighten veteran groups about what they stand to gain by registering with DHML, in the area of healthcare delivery.
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He said: “We are achieving this using our state offices that are spread across the country. Our staff in the office go into the remotest villages. Using the various veterans groups, they identify the veterans and educate them on why they should register with DHML and benefit from free good healthcare packages.
“From the NHIS guidelines there are diseases that are not covered, but on our own part here at DHML we try not to send any Veteran away because his or her ailment is not covered by the health insuranc
We are trying to let the authorities know that there should be no exclusion list for both serving personnel and veterans.”
The MD explained that what qualifies a veteran to benefit from scheme is to formally register with DHML immediately after retiring from active military service.
“On retirement they need to formally register with the DHML as the registration they did for health insurance while they were in active service does not cover their inclusion with the DHML,” Afolayan said.
The MD urged executives of the various veterans associations not to hold information to themselves, but to educate their members on the benefits of being part of DHML insurance scheme.
“They have provided active service to this country, some even at the point of death, and they need to be taken care of after they retire,” Afolayan said.
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In his remarks, the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, said that the Federal Government would soon increase funding for health insurance of retired military personnel to adequately cater for their ailments after service.
He also said that the plans are underway to upgrade various military health facilities to be at par with their counterparts in developed countries.
Represented by the Director, Health Services at the Ministry of Defence, Dr. Olajide Johnson, Matawalle said the government would also improve on veterans insurance health packages to include some ailments that were hitherto not included in the present package.
He said: “Generally, insurance covers most of the ailment of the veterans. All the services also have some particular money that take care of health insurance of the serving personnel. But we want to make sure that more money goes into that, most importantly, to upgrade the various health facilities, so that traveling abroad to get medical treatment will be reduced drastically.
“The Armed Force Health reform is also underway. Very soon the package will be made known.
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“Before the exit of the last administration, a memo was sent to the Federal Executive Council, unfortunately we didn’t get assent to that, whereby some money which are being deducted from source to National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), which is in large amount, is allowed to come into DHML will go along way in improving the veterans health packages. It will be represented again and I’m very sure this time around it will scale through.”