Newsfront Online …Telling the Public as it is
…Introduces BHCPF For Everyone To Benefit
By Saviour Ekpe
The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) was established under NHIA Act 2022 repealed Act 35 of 1999 that established the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is a body corporate established by the Federal Government of Nigeria to improve the health of all Nigerians at an affordable cost.
The Universal Health Coverage of NHIA is hinged on the goal of instituting Health insurance as a global concept, strategically focused on strengthening Primary Health Centres across the country with a view to avoiding rural-urban drift in seeking health care services.
With its Mission, “To Mobilise and Pool Financial Resources for Strategic Purchasing of Affordable and Quality Healthcare for all Nigerians” and its vision of being “A Leading Agency Committed to Achieving Financial Access to Quality Healthcare for all Nigerians”. NHIA is to provide social health insurance in Nigeria where health care services of contributors are paid from the common pool of funds contributed by the participants of the Scheme.
It is a pre-payment plan where participants pay a fixed regular amount. The amount/funds are pooled, allowing the Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) to pay for those needing medical attention. It is primarily a risk-sharing arrangement that can improve resource mobilization and equity. It is indeed regarded as the most widely used form of health care financing worldwide. Health Insurance is a social security system that guarantees the provision of needed health services to persons on the payment of token contributions at regular intervals.
The Akwa Ibom State Coordinator of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr. Ebiokobo Williams while answering questions from Century Newsfront said that new opportunities have been created for all citizens of the state to enroll and benefit from the scheme.
Mr. Williams explained that the scheme currently operates under what he termed Universal Health Coverage which no one is leaving behind as far as health care is concerned. He further explained that the health insurance omnibus is for all including groups, individuals, families, religious & community leaders, Diasporans, philanthropists, and political leaders among others.
The State Coordinator also noted that all indigenes of Akwa Ibom State, such as the aged, physically challenged, pregnant women, children under five and others in the hinterland of the State can enroll through what he described as Basic Health Care Provision Funds (BHCPF), “this can be achieved if the State Government set up State Insurance Health Agency, from the establishment of this agency, the government pays its counterpart funds or through equity fund, then indigenes will have access to our health facilities even if they are out of the state. Thirty-four states of the federation are already benefiting from this facility”.
A medical practitioner, Dr. Johnson Etuk noted that National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) is a potent medical tool that could be used to eradicate health challenges in Nigeria if the state government could harness the facility for the good of her citizens. He called on Akwa Ibom State Government to register so as to enroll in the health facility for the benefit of all.
Dr. Etuk further explained that many patients die in the hospitals as a result of lack of money to pursue their health conditions, “it is a welcome development that the NHIA has been made to accommodate everyone on like before now where it was strict”.
