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National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has granted the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) accreditation to operate its Health Management Organisation (NNPC-HMO) to provide qualitative healthcare services to Nigerians.
Nigeria’s health sector gears towards the achievement of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and continues its quest to increase the number of Nigerians covered by health insurance to increase access to care.
This implies a major boost in the NHIS coverage devoting attention to increasing enrolment, and it will help reduce out-of-pocket payments of Nigerians. However, less than 5 percent of the population is covered by health insurance.
According to NNPC, operating a functional HMO comes as a forerunner to the enviable plan by the corporation to activate a first-rate medical delivery system across the country with the potential to halt the ugly trend of medical tourism by Nigerians to other jurisdictions.
“We are confident that our entry into the market will increase the national coverage statistics by at least 1 – 2 digits. We have a better knowledge of the Oil and Gas Sector that can attract active participation within this sector for the scheme,” said Musa Ribadu, managing director of the NNPC HMO, while receiving the certificate of accreditation at the NHIS headquarters in Abuja.
According to Ribadu, NNPC, being a corporation known for quality performance, was ready to improve the scheme and offer real-time value to the prospective beneficiaries of its packages.
“The NNPC HMO Limited is poised to be the most preferred HMO in Nigeria and a role model that NHIS would be proud of its unique healthcare offerings adding that the initiative to invest in this venture was part of NNPC’s plans to diversify its revenue base and contribute to the corporation’s bottom line,” he said.
Muhammed Nasir Sambo, executive secretary, NHIS, in his remarks expressed confidence in the capacity of the NNPC to fully utilize the opportunity offered by the NHIS accreditation to operate an efficient HMO that would delivered the much desired first-rate services to its clientele.
Sambo commended the corporation for its track record over the year, wishing the National Oil Company well in its future undertakings.
“I am not unaware that NNPC is one of the most organized organizations in Nigeria and since they are well organized we have no doubt in our minds that NNPC will do whatever it takes to uphold the virtues and tenets of health insurance in Nigeria,’’ he said.
He also acknowledged the corporation’s long-standing culture and track record in delivery of functional Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
