House of Representatives has urged the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to direct all Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) to pay outstanding debts owed all healthcare providers in Nigeria within three months.
This was sequel to a unanimous adoption of a motion sponsored by six lawmakers at the plenary on Thursday.
The sponsors are Reps. Valentine Ayika, Gibeon Goroki, Idem Josiah, Israel Goi, Obanikoro Ibrahim, Mshelia Haruna and Waive Francis.
Ayika said that the NHIS was established by an Act of the National Assembly to ensure that every Nigerian has access to quality and affordable health care service through the provision of affordable health insurance.
He said that the scheme had a presidential mandate to achieve Universal Health Coverage by 2015 but has failed in that regard.
The lawmaker said that as available information showed that it currently boasts of a little more than six million enrollees as at 2019 in spite of regular budgetary allocations.
According to him, 50 per cent of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund which represents one per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Government is available for the scheme.
He said part of the fund was released in May 2019, yet the scheme still fell short of its objectives.
The legislator said that in spite of the importance of the scheme towards the attainment of Universal Health Coverage for Nigerians, ”it does not have a substantive executive secretary.
He said that the scheme had been negatively affected by an ‘Overseeing Director’ appointed from the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation.
According to the lawmaker, this has affected many critical and important operations of the scheme.
He said that the failure to conduct the periodic quality assurance and improvement exercises on Health Care Providers and Health Maintenance Organisations was as a result of the appointment.
The house urged the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) to ensure that private nedical practitioners should, as a matter of urgency, register their clinics with the NHIS as accredited health providers of medical services
Deputy Speaker of the House Ahmed Wase (APC-Plateau) mandated the committees on Health Institution and Healthcare Services to carry out holistic review of the NHIS to encourage more participation by Nigerians.
Wase said that it would aid the attainment of Universal Health Coverage for Nigerians and mandated the committee to report back within six weeks for further legislative action.
