E-NHIS — an online registration platform to be launched soon by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), will promote efficiency and effectiveness in the health insurance business and deepen coverage among Nigerians, the Lagos State Coordinator of the scheme, Mrs. Aisha Abubakar Haruna has said.
Haruna during a stakeholders’ forum organised by the scheme for men in uniform which held in Lagos recently, said the launching of the online platform will enable NHIS to further live up to its mandate, as well as empower Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) and Healthcare Providers to improve the quality of services rendered to enrollees.
Enunciating on how the E-NHIS will drive the operations of the federal agency, as well as partner with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Haruna, who is the Deputy General Manager, NHIS State Office said the E-NHIS registration platform will be synchronised with NIMC such that Nigerians who have not registered for their National Indentification Number (NIN) can have it once they register with NHIS.
“The E-NHIS is 90% completed and it’s going to be launched very soon. The ICT facilities for it have already been deployed across states. It’s going to be a one-stop approach. Many of our activities are already online real-time from the front desk to when you’re picking up the drugs.
“We’re collaborating with NIMC, we’re synchronising our system with the NIN, so once you do registration with NHIS, we will automatically generate NIN for you. So you just go to the NIMC office to get your identity card and that’s the beauty of it,” Haruna told The New Diplomat.
The forum which brought together various stakeholders in Lagos to discuss ways of reducing the discrimination and challenges faced by NHIS enrollees in accessing healthcare services was chaired by the President of HealthCare Providers Association of Nigeria (HCPAN), Dr. Jimmy Arigbabuwo.
At the interactive and educative forum, a drama was displayed by the staff of NHIS State Office, who showcased some of the challenges faced by enrollees and later a panel of discussion drawn from the representatives of the key stakeholders proferred solutions on ways of eliminating operational drawbacks.
The 2022 stakeholders’ forum was held specially for men in uniform including Army, Navy, Air force, FRSC, Police, NSCDC, Immigration Service, Fire Service and GIFSHIP Enrollees as a team of medical personnel from the NHIS state office provided free medical screening tests for blood sugar, high blood pleasure and health education and counselling to appreciate participants including the enrollees.
Haruna further said the NHIS is trying “to see how we can reduce and if possible eliminate the challenges that enrollees are facing, when accessing healthcare, including the discrimination between our enrollees and private patients (in healthcare facilities).
“We are not exonerating ourselves as the regulatory body, we also have some of our challenges and we are trying to improve and get better at getting it to have better services. And part of the reason why our management has flagged off the E-NHIS, which we’re about to launch very soon. It will provide efficiency and effectiveness in the provision of healthcare services to Nigerians. And this was quickly approved that by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
“I must tell you the current management of NHIS is doing so much in collaboration with our stakeholders. We’ve had series of engagements.” She added.
Also, the national President of HCPAN, Arigbabuwo stated that the E-NHIS when it is launched would fast-track enrollment for health insurance, boost data collection processes and dispensing as the payment of insurance premiums, disbursing and capitation for service would all be made easier through the electronic know-how.
Arigbabuwo who noted that only about 8-10 million Nigerians are currently registered with NHIS in the country, accounting for about 5% of the population, said there is a need for adequate advocacy on health insurance to cover the 95% Nigerians who are not under any health insurance plans.
He added that the E-NHIS is an initiative that will drive pragmatic strategies to make the system better and bring on-board new enrollees that have not been hitherto covered.
The HCPAN President who lamented that Nigeria is among top countries in the world with out-of-pocket health spendings, added that the situation could spell doom for many households in the country.
Speaking with The New Diplomat, the HCPAN President said: “Yes, it is another form of advocacy. It’s also a way to let us know that health insurance is possible. And if we get it right, and we do it right, that is the way to go globally and Nigeria cannot be an exception. Healthcare finances that encourage out of pocket payments is catastrophic to the average family in Nigeria.
“Healthcare system, let me repeat it, that is encouraging out of pocket payments is catastrophic to the economic survival or convenience of the average Nigerian family. Therefore, health insurance is the way to go. And NHIS new team as it is today as you can see are determined and ready to work.”
To achieve universal health coverage for Nigerians, Arigbabuwo added that regular advocacy and education is needed. “The European countries, even Germany, for example had challenges even after 100 years of commencing it. So what that means is that we need continuous education, capacity building, to speak, talk and understand the language of insurance.
“Insurance is a game of number of population, pre-payments transparency and honesty. Health insurance does not support scam, or what you can call insincerity. Trust is the backbone of insurance, and we should seem to be trustworthy and transparent.
“So far, put together both private and public health insurance, we are still hovering around 8-10 million so far. That’s about 5% of the population.”
