Availability of health data , analysts say is key to de-risking health financing in Nigeria. With the health sector recording a Cumulative Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 16 percent, seeking health financing to grow investments in the sector has remained a high hurdle for investors, as five out of the 24 local banks do not lend to the health sector in the country, analysts at the BusinessDay Annual Healthcare Financing Roundtable on Universal Health Coverage said.
Olumide Okunola, senior health specialist, Health In Africa Initiative, at the World Bank Group, revealed that lack of aggregation of health data and reporting of health trends and fundamentals have been a disincentive for financial institutions to invest in the health sector.
“Constraints to private sector participation in healthcare include access to capital, regulatory environment, fiscal policies, land acquisition and cost of doing business”, Okunola added.
“Real-time data, trend reporting, efficient book and record keeping, as well as mergers of smaller hospitals to form a community of hospitals to engender economies of scale for cost reduction per head, are key in driving healthcare investment in the sector”, he further observed.
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Also, he said, recent data reveals that Nigeria ranks ninth globally, in terms of medical tourism outflows at the most expensive hospitals in London.
Clare Omatseye, managing director, JNCI International Limited, an equipment solutions firm, explained that market constrains by healthcare providers from accessing finance is due to a dearth of bankable business proposals, ownership structure and corporate governance issues, among others.
“A shift from single ownership to partnerships, dedicated desks at financial institutions to understand the business of health sector, tax exemption financing, etc. are innovative ways to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs) in the health sector,” Omatseye added.
With approximately 4 percent (6.8 million) of Nigerians presently covered by health insurance in both the public and private sector, the nation’s health insurance remains hugely untapped, as out-of-pocket expenditure accounts for 65.8 percent of healthcare, she said.
While the NHIS Act currently before the National Assembly seeks to make health insurance compulsory for all Nigerians, scaling up universal health coverage will involve innovative insurance plans to cater for the different segments of the population, she further observed.
Adesimbo Ukiri, CEO, Avon Healthcare, stated that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ plan remains a hindrance towards accessing health insurance, and that as such, to be attractive to Nigerians, HMOs could focus on innovation, particularly in the area of product development..
Lai Labode, CEO, Salt & Einstein, stated that mobile health insurance is a game changer in Nigeria because all Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs), NHIS, Hospitals and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are brought on the platform.
According to Labode “A customer can take his/her phone and register remotely, get his/her electronic ID card and choose his/her HMO and hospital provider remotely and also interact with NHIS as the regulator.
“ It’s a large ecosystem. We signed this agreement with NHIS in June this year. By December, all MNOs will be on the scheme. Scratch cards to purchase health insurance will be available across the country later this year.”
Alexander Chiejina, Dan Ojabo & Edozie Ifebi
