…Tasks private sector to embrace NHIS
President Lagos State Chamber for Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Asiwaju (Dr.) Michael Olawale -Cole said that 190 million Nigerians are still paying out of pocket to access healthcare services following failure to register for National Health Insurance Scheme ( NHIS).
This is contained in a statement delivered by the LCCI President at the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) special day during the 2022 Lagos International Trade fair yesterday.
Dr. Olawale-Cole, said that less than 10 per cent of Nigeria’s population according to statistics have signed up for the National Health Insurance Scheme adopted two decades ago to insure the health expenditures of employees in corporate organizations. Despite introduction of this scheme due to limited budget, he lamented that 190million Nigerians ignorant of the NHIS benefits continue to pay heavily for healthcare services.
He explained that at this period, the health insurance Agency in Nigeria has created a regulatory environment to manage the activities of registered Health management organizations (HMOs).
He stated that in the quest to strengthen the operating environment for HMOs and Hospitals, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) metamorphosed into what we have today as National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).
Despite government and health insurance stakeholders’ relentless efforts to enhance access to quality healthcare services with the barest minimum cost, he lamented that the acceptance rate among the informal sector is not encouraging. “The Health Insurance Authority Act will boost the confidence of existing and potential investors in Health Insurance Schemes and further position Nigeria as determined and deliberate in achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC),” he assured.
The LCCI President disclosed that Health Management Organizations (HMOs) have created presence in many areas across the country. He noted that there is need to create an enabling environment that is attractive to private investors because government alone cannot fund Healthcare delivery in Nigeria.
The LCCI President said the COVID-19 pandemic further exposed the weaknesses in the world’s most sophisticated and equipped health systems.
“In response to this, many nations are recalibrating their health sectors to provide resilient health systems that can withstand unforeseen future disruptions.
“This funding challenge,” he said “is making health insurance models to become more popular across the globe in response to meeting emerging health challenges that have left more people vulnerable to life-threatening.”
Highlighting benefits of the Lagos Trade Fair, the LCCI President said this year’s trade fair is specially packaged to showcase innovations in goods and services of indigenous/homegrown businesses and enterprises in Africa thereby giving them a platform to connect with partners and investors across the world.