The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NHIS

  • Lack of substantive NHIS head cripples health benefits

    The delay by the Federal Government to appoint a substantive head for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is stalling some major activities in the scheme and hindering Nigerians from reaping the benefits of the health policy.

    The NHIS has had an Acting Executive Secretary in Mr Abdulrahman Sambo for about a year following the exit of Mr Muhammad Sambo.

    Chairman, Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria (AGPMPN), Lagos branch, Dr. Adeyeye Arigbabuwo, disclosed this in an interview with The Nation.

    He said the NHIS has an acting executive secretary who cannot perform much because he is in acting capacity.

    He said for sometime, things had been at a standstill, adding that the workers were waiting for the Federal Government to appoint a replacement.

    According to him, the acting executive secretary may wish to do more to bring effective health coverage to Nigerians and tackle problems associated with the scheme, he is restricted because he does not have all the powers to do so.

    “At present, the NHIS is yet to have an executive secretary. The person there is working in acting capacity. There are very few things he can do if he is in acting capacity. The law will not permit him to do a lot of things and when that is on ground and you take your complaints and issues to him, there is limitations to what he can do. Even to start implementing things like budgetary allocations may not be easy for him to do,” he said.

    He noted that the National Health Bill which at the moment is going through its second reading at the National Assembly is also a major factor in solving the many problems of the scheme.

    Arigbabuwo, who is also the Deputy National President, Healthcare Providers association of Nigeria (HCPAN), said there are germane issues in health insurance, which bother on universal coverage, how people get subscribed to health insurance and health care financing.

    He said though the passing of the Health Bill, is being delayed, it is better for the bill to come rather late and errors are taken care of.

    “What is important is the quality, content, acceptability of the bill and the effect of the bill on the citizenry. The bill is with the National Assembly and they are looking at few things that have to do with the NHIS,” he said.

  • NHIS: Fed Govt may introduce ‘sin’ tax

    •Scheme registers over 1.9m 

    The Acting Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Dr. Abdulrahman Sambo, has said that the Federal Government might introduce ‘sin’ tax to provide mass health care, especially for the poor and the vulnerable.

    The NHIS has registered over 1.9million enrollees in the formal and private sector in the last eight years.

    Sambo said the figure excludes the families of the enrollees, who are also benefiting from the programme.

    The NHIS Executive Secretary, who spoke with reporters in Abuja, said only five of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have subscribed to the NHIS scheme.

    Said he: “We have identified other sources of funding. We have looked at ‘sin’ tax, such as taxes on alcohol and cigarettes; and we have looked at tax on air travel.

    “We have also looked at tax on telephone usage, tagged: ‘One Kobo Per Minute Initiative.’ The idea is that for each minute that you talk, you are charged an additional kobo that will be collected centrally. Part of it will be remitted to the NHIS to provide health insurance for the vulnerable people.

    “It’s a sort of tax on those making calls and not on the telecoms companies. The concept has been forwarded to the government by the NHIS. We consulted the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and forwarded a proposal. When we told the President, he was enthusiastic about it.

    “When the Health Bill is signed, 1 per cent of the consolidated revenue fund will be given to the NHIS for the provision of healthcare to Nigerians. But it will be inadequate to use to cover for all Nigerians. So we are thinking that we can use it for the vulnerable group.”

    NHIS enrollees are over 1.9million because the scheme is “optional.”

    Sambo added: “In the formal sector, we have about 900,000 and in the organised private sector, we have over a million, excluding their families. If you add that the number will be higher.

    “Participation in the NHIS scheme is optional and there is no country that attains universal coverage with an insurance system that is optional.

    “For any country to attain universal coverage, social health insurance in that country must be compulsory, and that country must set aside a subsidy fund that will address the health needs of the poor, the elderly, the physically-challenged or no matter how you define the vulnerable group.

    “What has been our success eight years after beginning the formal sector? We have registered enrollees at the federal level. Those that have been paid for by the government have been registered and they are accessing health care.

    “We have designed programmes that will enable the NHIS implement the strategies to achieve universal coverage once the issue of contribution is sorted out.”

    Responding to a question, Dr. Sambo said that NHIS is seeking alternative sources of funding the health insurance scheme is not peculiar to Nigeria.

    He added: “Yes, most countries earmark funds to finance universal health coverage. In Ghana, it is a portion of the Value Added Tax and individual-employee’s contributions in the private and public sectors.

    “We have identified the sources of funding in Nigeria and it has been factored into the proposed amendment of the NHIS Act.”

     

     

     

  • Govt may list cancer in health insurance

    Health Minister Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu has restated the Federal Government’s commitment to health care delivery, especially cancer care and kidney management.

    Chukwu told reporters in Lagos that the government was working towards listing cancer under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

    The physically challenged, prisoners and patients living with end-stage renal damage will also be considered in the programme, he said.

    Chukwu said the government had increased kidney dialysis sections for patients.

    Recalling the success of his ministry, he said the government has established the Centre for Disease Control (CDC).

    This, he said, is to aid disease surveillance, adding that the government has put structures in place to promote the people’s health.

    On yellow fever, Chukwu said the country’s new yellow card has six security features to protect it from being faked.

    “Its distribution will be by the National Primary Health Care Board (NPHCB). The old card will no longer be accepted in other countries from October 1,” he added.

    On the Midwives Service Scheme (MSS), the minister said the government has started posting nurses under the MSS to the rural areas but with some incentives to motivate them to ensure the success of the programme.

    He said traditional birth attendants (TBAs) are being used to mobilise expectant mothers and are paid for their services.

    Chukwu said the ministry has received bulk money for routine immunistaion, stressing that it has never happened in the history of the country.

    “Mr President has doubled the amount of money for polio elimination because he wants polio out of the country,” he added.

    “The government has begun hands on training for medical professionals abroad to build capacity for the sector.

    “Open heart surgery has begun again after it was stopped eight years ago. A new cardiac centre has been built at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan to perform heart surgeries”, he stated.

    Chukwu said: “The executive has reviewed the NAFDAC law and the National Health Insurance law has been sent to the National Assembly. The National Tobacco Bill will soon go back to the National Assembly.

    “Training has begun on primary health care, especially maternal and child health. Besides, the government has inaugurated the saving one million lives initiative. New vaccines have also been introduced.”

    Chukwu said there would be mass immunisation against yellow fever soon, adding that the last time the disease was reported was in 1995 but some have found their way through the borders into the country.

  • Minister restates Fed Govt commitment to health care

    Health Minister, Prof Onyebuci Chukwu has restated the commitment of the Federal government to health care, especially cancer care and kidney management, among others.

    Chukwu, who spoke to reporters in Lagos at a parlay, said the government is trying to ensure cancer is listed under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

    He said cancer treatment is expensive, stressing that the NHIS working on how to include the disease in its programme, stressing that the physically challenged, prisoners and patients living with end-stage renal damage would also be considered in the programme.

    He said the government has increased sections for kidney dialysis.

    Recalling the success of its ministry, he said the government has established the Centre for Disease Control (CDC).

    This, he said, was to aid disease surveillance in the country, adding that the government has put structures in place to promote the health of people.

    On yellow fever, he said, the country’s new yellow card has six security features to protect it from being faked.

    “Its distribution will be by the National Primary Health Care Board (NPHCB). The old card will no longer be accepted in other countries from October 1,” he added.

    On the Midwives Service Scheme (MSS), he said, the government has started posting nurses under the MSS to the rural area but with some incentives to motivate them to ensure the success of the programme.

    He said the traditional birth attendants (TBAs) are being used as to mobilise expectant mothers and are paid for their services.

    Chukwu said the ministry has received at once money for routine immunistaion, stressing that it has never happened in the history of the country.

    “Mr President has doubled the amount of money for polio elimination because he wanted polio out of the country,” he added.

    He said the government has begun hands on training for medical professionals abroad to build capacity of the sector.

    Chukwu said the government has started open heart surgery again after it was stopped eight years ago. He said a new cardiac centre had been built at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan to perform heart surgeries.

    He said the executive has reviewed the NAFDAC law and National Health Insurance law has been sent to the National Assembly. The National Tobacco Bill will soon go back to the National Assembly.

    He said training has begun on primary health care, especially maternal and child health, adding that the government has inaugurated the saving one million lives initiative. New vaccines have also been introduced.

    He said there will be mass immunization against yellow fever soon, adding that the last time the disease was reported in the country was in 1995 but some have found their way through the borders into the country.

  • NHIS to boost health care

    The Chairman of International United Health Care, a Health Maintenance Organisation (HMO), Senator Isa Zarewa has called for improved health care in Nigeria through a functional National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

    Zarewa, who spoke during a training organised for his staff in Abuja, urged the three tiers of government to enroll people into the scheme towards accessing quality care in hospitals.

    He said: “If the NHIS is adequately financed by the government, or even people, it would go a long way to do away with out-of-pocket spending, which has been affecting the scheme.”

    He cited that most developed countries were able to attain their status because they had good health insurances in place.

    Zarewa said the Health Management Organisation is aiming to cascade into community health insurances in order to assist those in the rural areas adding that the HMO would always put their client’s health first and will deal with hospitals that fail to keep the terms of agreement and mismanages the needs of patients.

    Managing Director, International United Health Care, Dr Kolawole Owoka said NHIS can bridge the wide gap in accessing health care between the rich and the poor.

    He said the organisation is bracing up to assist the government achieve universal coverage which he said would improve the health indices in the country.

  • ‘How workers frustrate NHIS implementation in states’

    Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State has accused workers of frustrating state government’s willingness to implement the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

    Uduaghan, who made this known in Asaba, while contributing to discussions at the First National Health conference organised by Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), said the workers do this through their refusal to embrace the scheme.

    According to him, NHIS may not be replicated in the states, unless the workers agree to contribute to it.

    He said he was aware that a legislation to compel every employer and employee in the country to be enrolled on the scheme was in the offing, adding that beyond a law, advocacy was needed to make the scheme operational at the state level.

    According to him, relevant government authorities need to carry out serious advocacy and enlightenment on NHIS beyond just enactment of an act to compel workers to register in it.

    He said NMA had a big role to play in the acceptability of the scheme.

    Uduaghan urged NMA leadership to organise sessions to educate their members on the need to embrace the programme by agreeing to contribute from their salaries.

    The governor noted that workers in the state were quick to accept contributing to the Retirement Pension Scheme “not just because it is lawful, but because it has direct financial benefit to them.

    “With the pension, the workers quickly accepted to contribute because they know that they will get the money when they retire,” he said.

    On ways to achieve universal health coverage in the country, he called for training of physicians on preventive medicine, especially for those working in degraded environment.

    “The environment in states in the Niger Delta has been adversely affected, with water, air, soil and everything polluted,’’ he said.

    He noted that in such areas, ailments among the people were more in their psyche.

    The governor, therefore, said they need not just regular curative medication but more of counselling on preventive methods.

  • NMA calls for community-based NHIS

    NMA calls for community-based NHIS

     

    The Chairman, Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Kogi chapter, Dr. Kassim Oluwamayowa, has called on state and local governments to key into the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) for effective healthcare.

    Oluwamayowa told the News Agency of Nigeria on Saturday in Lokoja, that the scheme had achieved tremendous success at the federal level but not at the local government level.

    The NMA chairman commended former President Olusegun Obasanjo for introducing the scheme and urged successive governments to improve on it and ensure that the people at the grassroots level benefited from it.

    “The states and local governments have to get up and key into the scheme for us to have community-based NHIS.

    “If we have a well-functioning NHIS at all levels, our healthcare delivery in this country will definitely improve.

    “At present, the scheme has not achieved the full benefits which we hoped to derive from it because of its absence at the grassroots level,” he told NAN.

    On remuneration of doctors in the country, Oluwamayowa said statistics had shown that a lot of doctors trained in Nigeria had moved to other countries, in search of greener pastures.

    He pointed out that while their counterparts in the United Kingdom earned between N18 million and N25 million, doctors in Nigeria earned less than N5 million per annum.

    The NMA chairman said many general hospitals, clinics and comprehensive health centres in the state lacked adequate medical and health personnel.

     

  • NHIS: Govt to stop cheating of patients

    The Federal Government has promised to resolve the conflict in the implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme. (NHIS).
    Many subscribers are believed to have been short-changed by health institutions administering the scheme.
    Speaking at a Subscribers’ Forum in Abuja- a session aimed at creating awareness for beneficiaries, the Acting Executive Secretary of NHIS, Dr Abdulrahman Sambo, said many enrollees had been short-changed by institutions administering the programme because they lack knowledge about the scheme.
    He said: “Most of the enrollees are cheated, short-changed and segregated against by institutions providing health insurance as a result of enrollees’ insufficient knowledge; many want to capitalise on the lack of knowledge to short change beneficiaries.
    “The scheme will continue to ensure improvement in service delivery to enrollees and foster the enabling environment for robust interactions necessary for the smooth operation of the programme.”
    “This, we believe, will reduce the tensions and conflicts among stakeholders and enhance the desired satisfaction from the enrollees necessary for the sustenance of the scheme,” Sambo said.
    At the forum, one of the enrollees, Mrs Altine Ijogi, an official of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC), said one of the greatest challenges confronting enrollees was procedural means of accessing healthcare.
    She said: “Apart from procedural issues facing the scheme, the programme in real sense has been encouraging.”
    Mrs Ijogi urged NHIS officials to expedite action towards ensuring that health institutions implementing the scheme adhered strictly to the modus operandi.
    Enrollees at the forum were expected to be acquainted with the modalities involved in the full implementation of the programme.