The Senate has called on the federal government to
evolve a mandatory health insurance scheme for all Nigerians.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health,
Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe, made the call during a one-day public hearing for
consideration of two health insurance-related
bills.
Noting that the current National Health Insurance
Scheme (NHIS) only provided for optional health insurance in the country, the senator
emphasised that countries that have made substantial progress towards universal
health coverage did so because they made health insurance mandatory.
He, however, submitted that making health insurance
compulsory without sufficient arrangements for subsidisation would not work.
According to him,
there was the need to make efforts to subsidise the payments by
Nigerians who cannot afford the insurance premium.
"The poverty rate in Nigeria is about 35 per
cent of the population which translates to well over 60 million people. Many Nigerians
are living below poverty line. This group of people cannot afford insurance
premium, yet we cannot allow them to suffer lack of health care services,"
Oloriegbe explained, stating that the
proposed bill consists of nine parts and 79 clauses.
Highlights of the bills, according to him, include
the establishment of the National Health Insurance Commission, governing
council and its functions.
The lawmaker said the new bills would provide for
the types of health insurance schemes, registration
and licences of various schemes and provision for Basic Health Care Provision
Fund (BHPF), offences, penalties and legal proceedings among others.
On National Mental Health Bill 2019, he said the
bill was auspicious and appropriate for addressing the glowing number of
suicide deaths in Nigeria.
According to him, it was unarguable that most of
the suicides occur due to substance abuse, mental imbalance and none availability
of services to control the substance abuse.
The senator said the bill, made up of 12 parts and 74 sections, seeks to
provide direction for coherent, natural and unified response to challenges relating to the delivery of mental
health and substance abuse in Nigeria.
Stakeholders in the health sector, who made
submissions at the hearing via their memoranda, commended the Senate on its
efforts to review the NHIS act to
provide universal health coverage for all Nigerians. The two bills include bill
for an act to repeal the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) Act 2004, and
to enact the National Health Insurance Commission Bill 2019.
The second bill is a Bill for an Act to provide for
the Enhancement and Regulation of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services,
Protect Persons with Mental Health Needs.
The bill also seeks for Establishment of National
Commission for Mental and Substance Abuse Services for effective management of
mental health in Nigeria and other related matters 2019.
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