The Health and Managed Care Association of Nigeria on Tuesday urged the Presidency and the National Assembly to set up a high-powered committee to investigate the functions of the National Health Insurance Scheme from its inception.
The National Publicity of the organisation, Mr. Lekan Ewenla, who stated this in a statement in Abuja, said that at the inception of the scheme, stakeholders agreed that fees for services such as capitation and medications should be reviewed every two years.
This, he said, was aimed at reflecting the inflationary trend and ensuring the provision of qualitative services.
Ewenla added that it was also agreed that the NHIS should “warehouse the annual contribution” of the civil servants, which is 10 per cent of their basic salaries.
According to him, the NHIS is expected to regularly review the spread of the enrollees across the primary health care facilities.
He, however, noted that many of the enrollees chose teaching hospitals.
Ewenla added, “The NHIS was expected to embark on systematic re-distribution of enrollees from teaching hospitals to primary facilities with lower volume of enrollees.
“Unfortunately, the warehousing of the funds completely altered its focus and understanding of its regulatory roles to that of operating the scheme and growing a single pool fund.”
He said that the capitation fee, which was meant to be reviewed in 2007, was increased by N200 in 2011, thus making it N750.
Ewenla stated, “Most disheartening is the stagnation of the denominated services at the secondary and tertiary levels since 2005 till date as the NHIS has completely jettisoned regulation and completely focus on marketing and growing the funds.
“For example, at the commencement of the programme in 2005, an intermediate surgery like caesarian section was denominated at N55,000; appendixentomy was N35,000. Does this amount reflect today’s economic reality?”
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