The national president, Healthcare Providers Association of Nigeria (HCPAN), Dr. Adenike Olaniba has called for the immediate review of the law establishing the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

Dr. Adenike told newsmen recently that the NHIS is itself commendable and needful but the enabling law that brought it into existence has some flaws. According to her, there is a clause in the law that makes it optional for Nigerians to have health insurance.

“We believe that the clause should be reviewed and every Nigerian must have a form of health insurance, instead. Once that clause is reviewed, it gives NHIS the ability to apply health insurance to all Nigerians. I think this is the major handicap that NHIS currently has”.

She however commended the Scheme for its extensive coverage, adding that “it is encouraging that the NHIS has been able to provide qualitative healthcare to members of the federal civil service, pregnant women, and children under the age of five”

But this is still a meagre percentage of the population, she noted. “About 95 percent of the population is in the informal sector, and this is why some people are scoring the NHIS low in performance because the vulnerable groups and the indigents are still there in the dark, and they need to be catered for”

On the issue of Surgeon General, she explained that the role could best be filled by a medical doctor, “if a government official decides to go abroad for medical treatment, somebody has to advise the government whether that treatment should be funded by the resources of the government or not. So, the essence of all this is to conserve the revenues of the country, so that government officials do not spend frivolously on overseas medical treatment”.