Nigeria has enrolled two million individuals in 9 months of 2024, bringing the overall variety of enrollees within the nationwide medical health insurance applications to 19.18 million.
The Director-General and CEO of the National Health Insurance Agency, Dr. Kelechi Ohiri disclosed this in an interview with Nairametrics.
According to him, this represented a protection of about 8.9% of the inhabitants on the finish of the third quarter of 2024 in comparison with an enrollment base of about 16 million in This fall 2023.
“This data reflects enrollment growth from the first quarter through the end of the third quarter. We have achieved significant growth, adding approximately 2 million Nigerians to the health insurance program,” he defined.
Ohiri mentioned the overall nationwide enrollment now stands at about 19.18 million individuals. “This marks a remarkable growth over the past nine months. It is an important step forward as we aim to expand coverage and improve access to essential healthcare services across the country.”
“This rapid increase emphasizes a turning point in the nation’s healthcare system, with more citizens seeking the protection and affordability health insurance offers, as the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) intensifies its push toward universal health coverage (UHC),” he added.
Comparison with earlier years and ongoing challenges
This progress is encouraging when in comparison with earlier years, which noticed slower charges of enrollment enlargement. However, challenges persist as Nigeria strives to satisfy its well being protection objectives.
Pressing points resembling funding shortfalls and restricted entry to well being services have hindered broader protection.
NHIA CEO additional famous that at present, 84 HMOs are accredited in Nigeria, though this quantity fluctuates based mostly on the NHIA’s periodic assessment course of.
“We occasionally delist HMOs that do not meet standards, while new applications bring fresh HMOs into the fold,” he mentioned, “For example, in January, 10 new HMOs received accreditation, ensuring more robust service delivery across the board.”
Revised tariff to reinforce healthcare high quality
In addition to increasing enrollment, NHIA has applied a latest assessment of service tariffs to make sure high quality care at completely different healthcare ranges. This features a 40% enhance in skilled charges for secondary and tertiary care companies, which apply when sufferers are referred to greater care ranges.
“This fee-for-service increase reflects the need to keep up with rising costs of healthcare to ensure good quality of healthcare services, which are essential for better patient outcomes at hospitals,” he defined.
At the first care stage, the place capitation funds instantly help hospitals, there was a 60% enhance in tariffs. This rise is anticipated to enhance companies on the main stage, which regularly serves as the primary level of contact for a lot of Nigerians looking for healthcare.
Evaluating true prices of healthcare
While the tariff changes mark a necessary enchancment, NHIA can also be conducting two actuarial analysis research to higher perceive the true price of healthcare companies in Nigeria.
“These studies will provide insights that will help us make data-driven decisions to align our health insurance system with the needs and challenges of our healthcare landscape,” he famous.
Focus on compliance and sustainable enrollment targets
Also, interviewing one of many HMO suppliers, Dr. Lekan Ewenla, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Ultimate Health HMO, mentioned this administration is deeply involved in regards to the well-being of Nigerians, most particularly relating to their enrollment within the medical health insurance program.
- While Dr. Ewenla kept away from disclosing the precise enhance in medical health insurance enrollment, he affirmed that latest enhancements have pushed important progress. “Health insurance in Nigeria is no longer at the low 5% enrollment level we once saw,” he said.
- Ewenla famous that the enrollment price is steadily growing as regulatory our bodies have tackled points that beforehand hindered progress. “These improvements include a recent adjustment to statutory payments for health insurance risk managers.”
According to him, one other precedence is to enhance compliance with obligatory enrollment in medical health insurance schemes. “We are suggesting to the regulatory agency the need for stricter compliance measures, making enrollment mandatory for all Nigerians,” Dr. Ewenla added. “Unfortunately, a lack of respect for laws in Nigeria is partly why the program has lagged behind expectations.”
