Following allegations of mismanagement of funds and other irregularities in the National Health Insurance Authority( NHIA), the House of Representatives has mandated its Committees on Insurance and Actuarial Matters and Healthcare Services to investigate the agency.
This was a sequel to the adoption of a motion by Hon Esosa Iyawe on “Alleged Mismanagement of Funds and Other Irregularities in the Operations of the NHIA,” at plenary.
The House said that the investigation was aimed at making relevant interventions in the agency to ensure effective implementation of the National Health Insurance Policy.
Hon Iyawe, in the motion, explained that the Federal Government in pursuit of the Health Insurance Policy has made several budgetary allocations under the management of the NHIA and some Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs).
He however expressed concerns that that despite the huge budgetary allocations to the Health Insurance Scheme, available records show that “only a negligible 3% of persons in the formal sector have access to health insurance, leaving over 170 million Nigerians without Health Insurance.
” 25 years after the programme commenced, reports have shown that, out of a population of about 200 million, only about four million Nigerians are covered under the scheme, which is contrary to the claim by the Authority that over 10 million Nigerians are currently enrolled in the programme.
“The implementation of the scheme had been mired with corruption, lack of transparency and accountability, irregularities among HMOs and ill-treatment of enrollees by healthcare providers.
“The programme has been fraught with poor service delivery by the HMOs as well as low-quality services on the part of the healthcare service providers, as evidenced by the high level of dissatisfaction amongst enrollees who are thus discouraged from recommending the scheme to potential subscribers,” he said.
The lawmaker added that there are “reports that in some hospitals, the pharmacy for patients covered by the NHIA is separate from the hospital’s main pharmacy, and is allegedly stocked with low-quality drugs, as against the main.”
Hon Iyawe further stated that reports also indicate that funds meant for the implementation of the national health insurance policy are being mismanaged, “as well as allegations that some HMOs fail to remit funds or pay monthly capitation to the healthcare providers.”
