ENUGU STATE, BEST PREPARED FOR UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE IN NIGERIA - CHIEF EMMANUEL OBI

 


The National Health Act of 2014 mandates healthcare coverage for all residents in Nigeria, Similarly, the Enugu State Health Law of 2017 made healthcare coverage mandatory for residents of Enugu State. In an exclusive interview with select journalists, the Managing Director of Well health Network Ltd, an Enugu State owned and operated national HMO, accredited by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Chief Emmanuel Obi, shared his views on the roadmap to a successful Universal Health Coverage program in the State. Chief Obi was very upbeat about the key points to successful Universal health coverage: low health insurance premium of N300 per month for zero to 17 years and N500 per month for 18 years and above, to make the programme affordable for the rural and urban poor; one HMO/TPA (third party administrators) per the senatorial zones of Enugu East, Enugu North and Enugu West; Membership registration per health groups of maximum 45,000 enrollees;  Premiums  paid by residents go directly into a designated Enrollee  government nominated account.

Well health Network Ltd has been accredited as a national HMO by the National Health Insurance Authority. The company has been registered as an HMO with the CAC since 2008. Chief Obi noted that today, Enugu State is the most prepared to achieve Universal Health Coverage amongst the thirty-six states due to the availability of Government health centers in all the 260 wards in the state. What this connotes is that no resident will be left behind in this coverage, as everybody belongs to a ward.

On the practicability of the coverage, Chief Obi assured that the organization carried out an actuarial analysis using the most updated population of the state from the National Population Commission office in Enugu. Well health was able to identify the population of the residents in each of the senatorial zones. The principle they envision is for the Enugu State government to deploy one HMO/TPA per senatorial zone, whose principal function is to register residents and collect premiums, with the payment going directly to the government-nominated account with the HMOs/TPA not having access to the account supervised by the Enugu State Agency for Universal Health Coverage.

After registering residents who have paid their premiums, the State Health Insurance Agency captures and enrolls the residents into their database, ready to access healthcare services. All that the HMO/TPA does is to organize the residents, sensitize them, create awareness, and explain to them the benefits of the scheme, and they have no doubt that the residents will embrace the programme at affordable rate.

A premium per resident of N300.00 per month for ages zero years to 17 years and for adults 18 years and above N500 per month.

Chief Obi commended the Enugu State government for approving the refurbishment of health centers across the state 260 wards, aligning with the program's success. The HMOS/TPA'S will work with stakeholders within the health groups, their Diaspora relatives, foreign and local funders to seek assistance for residents with limited or no means of income.

Report by Okolo Norbert

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