Enrollment Under National Health Insurance Scheme Hits 18.7 Million

James Emejo in Abuja

The Director-General/Chief Executive, of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr. Kelechi Ohiri, yesterday, disclosed that the total enrolment rates in the health insurance scheme was currently at about 18.7 million at both the national and state levels.

This represented an increase of about 11 percent in less than a year, compared to a low enrollment base of about 16 million in Q4 2023.

Ohiri told THISDAY that the growth was an indication that ongoing efforts by the authority, and various state government institutions working in the health insurance space were yielding fruit.

He added that the enrolment figure had already surpassed the presidential target for the year by eight percent demonstrating its capability of meeting and exceeding the 2027 target.

The Coordinating Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, recently announced that as of the end of 2023, an additional 750,000 Nigerians had signed up for health insurance within the first 100 days of the Tinubu administration.

Since the beginning of 2023, the NHIA under its current management led by Ohiri had been working on various strategic measures to shore up the figures in pursuit of the administration’s target of universal coverage by 2030. 

He said the NHIA is currently leading an ongoing review of capitation fees paid to healthcare providers. The fees are fixed payments to healthcare providers based on estimated value of services to patients.

They constitute a key incentive for achieving improved quality of services and attracting enrollees. Already a temporary rate has been agreed, pending the announcement of a revised rate.  

The initiative is among several measures targeted at improving synergies with public and private sector partners – and ultimately enrolment figures.