Senate mandates HMOs to settle debts owed healthcare providers in three months

The Senate on Thursday urged the National Health Insurance Scheme to direct all Health Maintenance Organisations to settle all outstanding debts owed to all healthcare providers within three months.
The senate also ordered an investigation into the activities of the NHIS to improve the services of the scheme for attainment of the Universal Health Coverage in the country.
The order followed a motion on the urgent need to make the NHIS work for all Nigerians.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the motion was sponsored by Senator Oloreigbe Ibrahim and others.
Ibrahim said the NHIS was established to ensure access to quality and affordable health, but failed in its mandate.
He said available information had indicated that a little above 6 million enrollees had so far been captured in the scheme.
He said in spite of provision of regular budgetary allocations and releases the scheme had fallen short of its objectives.
He said that the dysfunctionality of the organisation had resulted to various complaints of dissatisfaction by health care providers and beneficiaries of the scheme.
He listed the complaints to include the purchase of drugs outside of the hospital under the guise of either the drug being out of stock or not covered.
He also faulted the failure to review fees and charges paid to NHIS, saying that it didn’t meet the current economic realities in the country among other complaints.
Oloriegbe called on the Senate to join hands to ensure proper action was taken for effective working of the scheme.
Contributing further to the motion, Senator Ewkrudjakpo Lawrence urged NHIS to implement a community-based health insurance scheme for Nigerians in the informal sector.
He said many Nigerians in the informal sector were not benefiting from the scheme, hence the need to expand the coverage to the informal sector.
Commenting on the passed motion, the President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, said the Senate would mandate the Health Committee, when constituted to further look into the activities of the scheme.