The Lagos State Government has given employers, workers and residents until December 31, 2026, to comply with mandatory health insurance, warning that enforcement will begin on January 1, 2027.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced this on Tuesday during the launch of the Lagos Private Health Plan (LPHP) Partnership at the Lagos Continental Hotel, Victoria Island, where 21 Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) endorsed the initiative.

Sanwo-Olu said the policy was aimed at expanding health insurance coverage and reducing residents’ dependence on out-of-pocket payments for medical care.

He urged employers and workers to use the grace period to select appropriate insurance plans and complete their enrolment, adding that the government would prioritise compliance over confrontation.

“We want compliance, not unnecessary confrontation,” he said.

The governor said the initiative, backed by Executive Order EO/BOS/01/2024 signed on July 16, 2024, would complement the state’s existing Ilera Eko health insurance scheme by providing additional options for formal-sector employees and corporate organisations.

According to him, the existing scheme was designed primarily to support vulnerable residents and informal-sector workers, making a complementary arrangement necessary to expand coverage among salaried workers and businesses.

He said actuarial analysis of about two million claims and enrolment records informed the development of the new plan.

The government also established an implementation steering committee and an enforcement task force to oversee compliance, while operational guidelines are expected to clarify contributions, minimum benefit packages and the responsibilities of participating organisations.

Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, said mandatory participation was necessary to build a sufficiently large insurance pool capable of spreading healthcare costs across the population.

He explained that voluntary insurance schemes often struggle to attract healthy people, who may defer enrolment until they require medical attention.

Abayomi said the policy would help protect households from financial hardship, provide healthcare facilities with more predictable revenue and reduce congestion in public hospitals.

He disclosed that Lagos was targeting an increase in the number of insured residents from about two million to at least 10 million.

The commissioner added that participating HMOs had been accredited by the National Health Insurance Authority.