The smooth operation of registered Health Management Organisations (HMOs) in Nigeria’s healthcare system appears threatened by subterranean moves by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the industry regulator, to take over their responsibilities.
BusinessDay learnt that NHIS is asking all organisations operating in Imo State to register all their staff in the state in its Organised Private Sector (OPS) Social Health Insurance Programme. This, according to experts and operators, is likely to undercut the HMOs.
In a letter by the NHIS, Imo State office, obtained by BusinessDay, requesting organisations to register in the Organised Private Sector Social Health Insurance Scheme, the body seems to be leveraging its Act to create programmes that will undercut the HMOs duly registered to enhance the management of Nigeria’s healthcare system.
The said letter signed by Agwunobi Chinasa, NHIS state coordinator, Imo State, reads: “The Federal Government of Nigeria has charged the NHIS, a corporate body set up under Act 35 of 1999, to provide accessible, affordable and qualitative healthcare for all Nigerians including the staff of all organisations with staff strength of 10 persons and above.
“In order to achieve these responsibilities, the Scheme has developed various programmes to cover different segments of the society. One of the programmes is the Organised Private Sector (OPS) Social Health Insurance Programme aimed at providing healthcare services to all staff of OPS.”
It said that subsequently, the NHIS had set up its office in Imo State to ensure proper implementation of all the Scheme’s programmes. It therefore directed all organisations operating in Imo State to register their staff operating in the state into the OPS programme.
The organisations, it said, would forward an application letter addressed to the Executive Secretary, National Health Insurance Scheme, Abuja, through the Imo State office, requesting the scheme to register their staff in Imo State into the OPS.
“This would enable the state monitor proper implementation of the programme in the state,” the letter said.
With this development, the organisations are to forward nominal rolls of all staff in the state to the NHIS office, choose their Health Maintenance Organisation for their staff in Imo State offices, and pay contribution to the scheme for the provision of healthcare services to their staff.
“The amount is 10 percent contribution of the basic salary of the staff to be paid by the organisation and 5 percent of the same contribution to be paid by them but deducted from source by the organisation,” the letter read.
Assessing this latest development, health analysts say it is an outright takeover of the functions of HMOs who were established to ensure the success of the health insurance scheme and provide quality healthcare to a designated population in a cost-effective way.
