The National Health Insurance Authority announced on Wednesday that there has been an 11 per cent increase in health insurance enrolment rates at both the national and state levels over the past year.
The Director General of the NHIA, Dr Kelechi Ohiri, made this statement in Abuja.
This increase comes after the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, revealed five months earlier that an additional 750,000 Nigerians had joined the health insurance scheme.
Ohiri believes that this growth in enrolment is a sign that the efforts of the NHIA and state government institutions are paying off, as they work towards achieving universal coverage by 2030.
With this 11 per cent increase, the total number of people enrolled in the national health insurance scheme now stands at approximately 18.7 million.
He elaborated, “From the low base of an estimated 16 million enrolment into various schemes across the country in Q4 2023, total national enrolment now stands at about 18.7 million. This translates to an increase of about 11 per cent in less than one year, an indication that the ongoing efforts by the NHIA and various state government institutions working in the health insurance space are yielding fruit.
“This enrolment figure has also already surpassed the presidential target for the year by 8 per cent demonstrating its capability of meeting and exceeding the 2027 target.
“The capitation fees are fixed payments to healthcare providers based on the 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.”
