Private hospitals owners give conditions for participation in NHIS
Some private hospital owners in Nigeria have indicated readiness to fully participate in the National Health Insurance Scheme which hitherto was considered unprofitable for them.
A major condition to join the NHIS is predicated on implementation of the National Health Act which they say will attract more participation from private hospitals.
“The Act has been signed into law but not yet implemented by the Federal Government,” Moses Ayibiowu, National coordinator, Institute for Health Insurance and Manage care of Nigeria, told BusinessDay.
Also, Nike Olaniba, immediate Past President of Healthcare Providers Association of Nigeria and Olumide Akintayo, a former president of the Pharmaceutical Association of Nigeria (PAN)who spoke with Business Day recently at the annual general meeting of the Health Care providers Association expressed similar sentiments.
According to Olaniba,“We are advocating that government should revisit that act and make health insurance compulsory to all citizens. That is what is available in other countries that can achieve 90 and even 100 percent of healthcare coverage,”
Ayibiowu further explained that there is two percent which comes from the consolidated fund of the country that has been allocated for health and 60 percent of that goes to primary care. The policy will also drive investment because if they know more money is coming to health, many people will be interested both within and outside because National Health Act has a lots of sections that open up opportunities for participation.
He noted that presently, the funding for health is very low, and it needs to be as high as budgetary allocation committed by other countries across the globe, “Nigeria is the lowest in terms of health spending,” Ayibiowu asserts.
In the same vein, Akintayo, said “Coverage for a programme that we have run since 2006, more than 10 years now, is still low as 3.5 percent.
“The health sector needs to be energised and the government needs to put the necessary framework in place,”
“What we need to do to address the issue is to go back to the drawing board. The enabling act is a good document which we need to implement properly and the way it should be and do things that can enhance the theme concept.
Let us begin to have a social health insurance act agenda that is anchored on lawful payment mechanism.”
Umar Sanda, president of Healthcare Provider Association of Nigeria on his part, remarked that “The private sector needs to assist the government to cover the health of Nigerians and to reduce problem of health indices. Even with the new initiative by the Minister of health to have primary healthcare in all senatorial district, later in the local governments and Nigeria at large, it still cannot cover (the whole country) without involving the private sector.”
“The private sector and government scheme have been able to cover less than 10 per cent out of over 180 million of the Nigerian population. Nigeria needs to find a way to cover with the informal sector.” He noted
Ayibiowu also suggested the need for “a mechanism for public enlightenment and knowledge to get it done because we also have hospitals that just establish and don’t know what National Health Insurance Scheme and Health Maintenance Organisation is all about.
“Training of health staff is also a key to success of health care delivery in Nigeria and should be a priority. Also, making sure that anybody that is going to practice anything in the sector, no matter how little your designation, you must be well trained,” Ayibiowu added.
TIAMIYU ADIO