4.5m Nigerians enroll for national health insurance scheme
(Nigerian Tribune) - Since the Federal Government introduced the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in the country, only 4.5 million Nigerians have so far enrolled with the participating 62 Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs).
Disclosing this in Bauchi, after declaring open a one-day stakeholders’ forum for enrolees in North-East geopolitical zone, the zonal coordinator of the scheme, Alhaji Ma’aji Abdu, stated that about seven states in the country had keyed into the programme, adding that there were operational guides for the HMOs to follow.
“About 4.5 million Nigerians are participating in the National Health Insurance Scheme and we have some states that are participating. Those that have already enrolled into the programme are Bauchi, Cross Rivers and Imo, among others. I think we have about six or seven states that have fallen into the formal health insurance programme,” Abdu said.
According to him, “there are about 62 Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) nationwide.”
Speaking on the common complaints being raised by enrolees that health providers often have drugs on the approved drug list, the zonal coordinator said that as far as the scheme was concerned, there was nothing like out of stock.