National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), has recommended one kobo per second call from telecommunications for full coverage of vulnerable Nigerians.
Prof Mohammed Sambo, executive secretary of NHIS, disclosed this in his presentation at the 2021 stakeholders’ summit on Universal Health Coverage (UHC), in Abuja, adding that the organisation has disbursed not less N14.9 billion to states.
Sambo lamented that the absence of commercial banks in most Nigerian towns and rural areas is part of the problem delaying the successful implementation of Universal Health Coverage for the vulnerable Nigerians.
The Executive Secretary of NHIS, highlighted that while the mandatory health insurance had provisions for the vulnerable funds, that was not what the agency wanted, as the one kobo per second call has a tremendous capacity to bring huge resources in billions that would be used to cover the vulnerable segment of the population.
According to him, Nigeria is one of the signatories to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in efforts to achieve UHC, has to finance health insurance since the vulnerable cannot afford to pay for health insurance, had to devise a mechanism of paying for them.
He said “We wanted one kobo per second call from telecommunications to enable the scheme to provide health insurance for vulnerable Nigerians. When you take one kobo per second call, nobody will feel that anything has been deducted from his or her call, but It has a tremendous capacity to bring huge resources in billions that would be used to cover the vulnerable segment of the population.”
Sambo revealed that about 70 per cent of Nigerians pay out of their pocket for healthcare services; hence the need to mobilise resources for universal health coverage.
He stated that the total enrolment target was 1.2 million people, while the number of poor people in the country is about 80 million.
He explained the health insurance scheme could not be implemented in an atmosphere of ignorance, and harped on the need for accountability framework, else the scheme would collapse.
NHIS has accredited 7,252 healthcare facilities, he said, but the non-release of Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) after initial disbursements, weak political and financial commitment and others factors have constituted a big challenge to the scheme.
Before now, the National Health Insurance Scheme has developed various programmes in order to ensure that every Nigerian has access to good health care services to cover different segments of the society.
These programmes are: Formal Sector which includes Social Health Insurance Programme, Mobile Health, Group, Individual and Family Social Health Insurance Programme.
Informal Sector which include Tertiary Institution Social Health Insurance Programmes; Community Based Social Health Insurance Programmes; Public Private Partnership Social Health Insurance Programmes
The Vulnerable Group which include Pregnant Women; Children Under five; Prison Inmates; Retirees and the Aged.