HCPAN seeks better involvement in health insurance from govt

The Lagos State chapter of Health Care Providers Association of Nigeria (HCPAN) has called on government to ‘play by the rules’ and get relevant stakeholders involved in the decision and programme roll-out of the National Health Insurance (NHIS) in the state.

They have also among other demands urged the government to periodically review the capitation by NHIS, taking into consideration, inflation and unstable economy.

They made these call on Tuesday at the Mid Year General Meeting of the chapter held at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) conference centre, Lagos State.

Speaking at the event, the chairman, Dr. Tunji Akintade called on the government to be well advised and involve all stakeholders rather than operating with one segment of the sector and leaving others in the dark.

He stated that the providers over the years have been in pains and sorrow while other stakeholders have been benefitting from what they have laboured for.

In his words: “The providers have been pained over the years while other stakeholders have been laughing to the bank, yet provide the services. Let us play by the rules.

“We are ready as a stakeholder to roll out quality services to Nigerians with good mobilization from government and waivers as enshrined in our submission. We are also glad to hear that government has given some waivers to MNOs so as to increase our capitation, but they should also factor in prevailing inflation rate at all times.

“Our request still remain, uploading of all our certified members on the platform following accreditation through NHIS is not compromisable. Initial take off capitation, with pre-paid capitation has been our proposal.

“Distribution of encounter machine to HCPAN certified membership will go a long way in cautioning the system. Support service to providers in terms of medical information software on database is also part of our proposal.”