{"id":5949,"date":"2024-12-13T14:17:30","date_gmt":"2024-12-13T14:17:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/?p=5949"},"modified":"2024-12-13T14:17:30","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T14:17:30","slug":"nigeria-19-2-million-nigerians-enroll-in-health-insurance-nhia-reports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/nigeria-19-2-million-nigerians-enroll-in-health-insurance-nhia-reports\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria: 19.2 Million Nigerians Enroll in Health Insurance, NHIA Reports"},"content":{"rendered":"

The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA)<\/strong> has reported a significant milestone, with 19.2 million Nigerians<\/strong>now enrolled in health insurance programs at both the national and state levels. This represents a 14% increase<\/strong> from the previous enrollment figure of 16.7 million. According to the NHIA\u2019s Director General, Kelechi Ohiri<\/strong>, the agency aims to achieve a further 20% increase in enrollment by 2025<\/strong>, marking a crucial step toward expanding healthcare access nationwide.<\/p>\n

While the increase in enrollment is a positive development, Ohiri expressed concern over the fragmented nature of Nigeria’s health insurance system<\/strong>, which currently includes 83 private insurers<\/strong> and 37 state health insurance agencies<\/strong>. This fragmentation, he noted, poses a significant challenge in creating a unified and efficient healthcare framework for the country.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the NHIA\u2019s end-of-year briefing<\/strong> in Abuja on Wednesday, Ohiri acknowledged the agency\u2019s progress in healthcare reform<\/strong>. He attributed this success to strong collaboration with state health insurance schemes and various stakeholders. He also highlighted key initiatives, including the Fistula Care Program<\/strong>, which provides free treatment for women suffering from obstetric fistula, and the Saving One Million Lives (SIGOP)<\/strong> program, aimed at reducing maternal deaths by removing financial barriers during emergencies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen women face life-threatening obstetric complications, financial constraints should never hinder their survival,\u201d Ohiri emphasized. \u201cWe waive costs to ensure immediate care and subsequent enrollment into health insurance.\u201d<\/p>\n

He further noted that the NHIA had successfully expanded access to Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC)<\/strong> services across over 100 facilities nationwide.<\/p>\n

Despite these successes, the NHIA Director General expressed concerns about the fragmented health insurance system, which he said needed public trust, regulatory compliance, and heightened awareness<\/strong> to increase enrollment. \u201cTrust is crucial,\u201d he said. \u201cNigerians need to know that being insured guarantees access to care.\u201d<\/p>\n

To address rising medical costs, the NHIA has increased capitation rates by 60%<\/strong> and professional fees by 40%<\/strong>. Actuarial studies are also underway to ensure that premiums align with industry standards.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Ohiri shared the NHIA\u2019s ambitious targets for 2025, which include increasing enrollment by 20%<\/strong>, expanding access to CEmONC services<\/strong>, and collaborating with the National Pension Commission (PenCom)<\/strong> to extend health insurance to retirees. Additionally, the NHIA plans to launch a fully digital platform<\/strong> for enrollment, claims submission, and complaint management to improve efficiency and user experience.<\/p>\n

The agency has also signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs)<\/strong> with 11 hospitals<\/strong> and partnered with organizations like the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists<\/strong> and the African Center for Population Health Policy<\/strong> to sustain progress.<\/p>\n

In his closing remarks, Ohiri reiterated the NHIA\u2019s commitment to creating a health system where every Nigerian, regardless of their socioeconomic status, has access to quality healthcare. \u201cWe are not just building a scheme; we are redefining healthcare delivery in Nigeria,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Habib Abdulhameed<\/strong>, Acting Director of Enforcement, revealed that the NHIA had received 2,591 complaints<\/strong> between January and October 2024. Of these, 1,678<\/strong> were against healthcare providers, and 913<\/strong> were directed at the NHIA itself. The NHIA achieved an 82% resolution rate<\/strong> for complaints, which Abdulhameed attributed to the agency’s decentralized complaint handling system at the state level. The NHIA also sanctioned 100 healthcare providers<\/strong>for non-compliance, with 97 cases<\/strong> resolved through various actions, including warnings, fines, and suspensions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has reported a significant milestone, with 19.2 million Nigeriansnow enrolled in health insurance programs at both the national and state levels. This represents a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[80,90],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-nigeria"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/KELE-1024x570-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C570&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5949"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5949\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5951,"href":"https:\/\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5949\/revisions\/5951"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regtechafrica.com\/healthcare\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}