Healthcare providers task government on support for NHIS

Healthcare providers’ Association of Nigeria, (HCPAN) has tasked government on the need to support the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), to ensure quality healthcare delivery in the country.

The association said support from all the 36 states of the federation through providing infrastructures and health facilities, would go a long way in improving healthcare services, especially at the grassroots.

HCPAN made this call at its 2016 national mid-year building meeting titled, Health Insurance In Nigeria: The Journey So far And The Way Forward held in Ikeja, Lagos.Dr. Umar Oluwole Sanda, National President, HCPAN, said the association is made up of health professionals, such as, doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists and laboratory scientists, among others.

He explained that HCPAN is the only organisation recognised by the body that set up NHIS in 1999, to intervene between NHIS, Health Maintenance Organisation (HMO), and health providers.

Sanda said: “The scheme was established by former president, Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005, and the promise then was that within two years, 80 percent of Nigerians would be covered. But 11 years after, only four per cent is covered out of the Nigerian population and the four per cent are mainly civil servants. The scheme is static. So, how do we move forward? We, the providers are eager, but we see NHIS as the way forward for health facilities and to increase healthcare indices in Nigeria.

“You need not spend money at any hospital for medical care, if you have NHIS, just as it is done in other African countries, like Ghana and Rwanda. Germany, England and US also practise NHIS. The earlier we encourage Nigerians to embrace and key in to it, the better for the nation”.

Nasiru Ikharo, General Manager, Information communication technology (ICT), NHIS said the Scheme’s challenge lies in the fact that state governments felt because of the constitution, they cannot key in at the federal level. Therefore, they felt the need to run NHIS programme at state levels.

Ikharo explained that the scheme has agreed that every state should establish NHIS, but they still need legislative backing to make it compulsory, as this is the best way to move healthcare forward.

“The scheme is a programme, where those who are financially buoyant subsidise those who cannot afford to pay healthcare services and facilities. So, the testimony we get from participants in the scheme is that it is very good for all Nigerians in terms of healthcare financing.

“We have said in order to ensure maximum participation by the entire population, it has to be compulsory. For instance, where we have old people and pregnant women, who cannot afford to pay, someone has to pay for them,” he said. Olorogun Dr. Isaac Akpoveta, Chairman Governing Council, Delta State Contributory Health Commission, said Delta State has gone far regarding NHIS, as it started the programme since 2005.

He said: “Within that period, we have covered about 95 per cent of federal workers. The scheme would have done more, but for the fact that the law does not allow the scheme to penetrate the state without the state commission.