The federal government has recently made progress in the health sector by abolishing the 2014 National Health Insurance System Act and enacting the 2021 National Health Insurance Authority Act. The purpose of this law is universal health insurance in Nigeria. For decades, health sector stakeholders have been insured to require all Nigerians to enroll in some form of prepaid health insurance package, regardless of their status in the formal and informal sectors. I have requested the implementation of. This was necessary given the fact that 70% of Nigerians pay their own health costs. If citizens do not have any form of prepaid insurance, they have no choice but to pay for all health-related services that occur. Out-of-pocket spending contributes significantly to Nigeria’s health indicators and low mortality rates. In a society where resources are scarce and survival needs are competing, out-of-pocket spending allows families to meet new health needs and meet other basic needs such as education, food and housing. I can do it. Compared to other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria’s out-of-pocket costs are high. Countries such as Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Kenya and Rwanda all have less out-of-pocket costs than Nigeria.
The average for Sub-Saharan Africa is 29.98%, compared to 70.52% for Nigeria. A recently signed law entitles 80 million vulnerable Nigerians, including the elderly, children, pregnant women and people with disabilities, to free health insurance under a vulnerable group fund. The state is to enjoy these funds by establishing its own compulsory state health insurance system. The law also provides that everyone residing in Nigeria is required to have health insurance. What does S.14 (2) of the Act prevent Nigerian residents from taking out private health insurance, provided that Nigerian residents have the state’s mandatory health insurance? It stipulates that there is no insurance. The implications of this section are that all residents of Nigeria are required to have health insurance.
Nigerians need to admire the new law given its enormous benefits. First, not only will it reduce out-of-pocket spending, it will serve as a huge resource mobilization in the health sector. The health sector has historically suffered from resource shortages. Over the last decade, Nigeria’s budget allocation to the health sector has fluctuated between 3 and 5 percent of the total national budget. Given the huge demand for health products, infrastructure, and human resources for primary, secondary, and tertiary health care, budgets are consistently low. The health sector budget also denies Abuja’s declaration of 15 percent of the total health budget. Again, Nigeria is among the least-distributed countries in the sub-Saharan region. The minimum health allocation in most sub-Saharan Africa countries is 7%, while some African countries allocate 15% of their budget to health. Prepaid insurance is a pool of funds that supports investment in the healthcare sector and provides the most needed healthcare products, infrastructure, and talent.
Second, the new law will help achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3, which aims to promote the health and well-being of all people of all ages. It will extend the coverage of universal health insurance from the current proportion of less than 5 percent of the population to at least 70 percent of the population. However, in order to effectively implement the Health Insurance Bureau Law, it is necessary to quickly develop operational guidelines. The guidelines should provide important directives regarding mandatory registration and scope of all citizens under any of the prepaid health schemes. Citizens’ possession of a health insurance identity card or certificate should be considered a necessary requirement to derive certain benefits from the government. Medical facilities should be properly equipped and trained medical personnel should be assigned to respect the rights of patients. Providing professional treatment for citizens at the facility will serve as an incentive for Nigerians to participate in the plan.
Recent interactions with stakeholders regarding the development of Sokoto’s health insurance coverage show the willingness of citizens of the formal sector to lock the state’s prepaid health system. The state has succeeded in enrolling vulnerable citizens in the health insurance system under the Basic Health Fund, but feels that citizens in the formal sector are left behind. The federal government needs to work with quasi-national governments to ensure that people in the right categories are enrolled in vulnerable group funds without leaving people in the formal sector behind. Stakeholders responsible for enforcing the law must be open to the public and accountable. Civil society organizations need to establish an accountability framework to monitor the enforcement of new legislation.
- Public relations analyst Emejuiwe wrote a letter from Abuja.
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