Twenty-two years after the introduction of the National Health Insurance Scheme, less than seven per cent of Nigerians are currently covered as policy inconsistencies and corruption, among other challenges, continue to prevent the scheme from gaining more momentum, NIKE POPOOLA reportsThe inability of many individuals and families in Nigeria to pay for quality healthcare services out of their pocket when they need it most highlights the need to ensure universal health coverage for all Nigerians.
Ejike, who works as a human resource officer in a telecommunications firm in Lagos, said, “In Nigeria, there is no perfect system. However, I will recommend that employers should have health insurance plans for their employees. I benefitted so much from NHIS plan in the past. The NHIS was established under Act 35 of the 1999 Constitution by the Federal Government to address the gaps in getting affordable treatment and ensuring universal access to quality healthcare for all Nigerians.
Mr Jame Olatayo, who narrated his experience at a recent forum, said, “Early this year, I registered myself and my wife in NHIS. We choose our hospitals based on recommendations, and the place looked good, clean and fine, with many doctors. “He went back to complain and they told him they don’t have other drugs. Meanwhile, before he joined NHIS, they used to give him better drugs at that same hospital.”Figures obtained from the NHIS showed that just about 13.5 million Nigerians have been covered under the scheme out of a population of about 200 million, more than two decades after the scheme commenced.
“This scheme started with the federal civil servants, and they are less than three per cent or thereabout. So, that explains why it was very low at the beginning.”He said between 2005 and now, the industry had introduced a lot of systems and concepts to expand and deepen health insurance in Nigeria. There have been several developments over the years, including the signing of the National Health Act into law in 2015 and the establishment of state social health insurance schemes in 2017.
He said the Federal Government had been able to provide cover for 99 per cent of its workers under the scheme. He said, “We revamped the programme and introduced control measures, and we changed the programme, which now has a minimum entry of N45,000 and allows you to bring in another two members. For instance, Mr Tunde Aremu, a welder who lives in the Isheri area of Lagos State, slipped and fell while walking down the sloppy road to his house.
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