The Federal Government has launched the operational guidelines for the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).
This is the precursor to the full implementation of its National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Act 2022 and the commencement of the enrolment of 83 million poor and vulnerable Nigerians into its health insurance.
The launch of the operational guidelines became critical to the implementation of the NHIA Act 2022, making health insurance mandatory in Nigeria.
The NHIA operational guidelines provide an enabling platform for the promotion, integration, and regulation of health insurance in the country.
The NHIA Act 2022, which replaced the 2004 law, recognises the decentralised state of health insurance in Nigeria, provides for the Vulnerable Group Fund (VGF), and empowers the NHIA to promote, regulate, and integrate health insurance schemes across the country.
Unveiling the operational guidelines yesterday in Abuja, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, said the country had made some progress in health insurance since the inauguration of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) before its transformation to NHIA with a national coverage of between eight and nine per cent of the population.
The minister said this is not where the country intended to be.
He regretted that the high rate of out-of-pocket spending by families to access healthcare was responsible for poor coverage, an issue the minister said the government, in collaboration with critical health sector partners, was determined to address.
Pate said the establishment of the NHIA and the launch of the operational guidelines pointed to the seriousness the government attached to them.
The minister said the target of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is to have at least 50 million Nigerians enrolled in a few years.
He said,
“These guidelines are meant to provide direction… We will work in a concerted way to expand the affordability of healthcare for the population in our country, especially the poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians.
“These guidelines have been developed in a consultative manner with all actors, public, private sectors, civil society, and with engagement of state governments.
“So, it’s Nigeria coming together to say that people should not be pushed into poverty because of the cost of ill-health.
“And so, as we implemented on the basis of these guidelines, we should see more Nigerians are covered over time to meet the goals that have been set by Mr. President for his administration. We have over seven of the Global Health Insurance Programme.
“We have less than 10 per cent now. So, the President’s aspiration is transformative so that we leapfrog. We expect faster progress and higher rates of increase in coverage over the next few years. Within the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), there is a portion of it that is allocated to the vulnerable groups. We will make sure it gets to them.”
