The Acting Executive Secretary of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Attahiru Ibrahim has called on the National Assembly to urgently amend the NHIS Act to make health insurance compulsory for all Nigerians, if the country desire to achieve universal health coverage.
Ibrahim stated this on Tuesday in Abuja while briefing reporters on the activities of the Scheme as well as the gains he has so far recorded since his appointment as the Acting Executive Secretary of NHIS. He lamented that the Act establishing NHIS makes it optional for people to be enrolled but stressed that he was working with state governments with a view to establishing state health insurance schemes.
"The current act establishing NHIS made it optional but anywhere in the world that health insurance is in practice, it is compulsory. For us to achieve universal health coverage it must be made compulsory. We are encouraging the states to come up with agencies of their own and also not to make the mistake made in our Act by making it optional. We are urging the states to make it compulsory; I think those are the areas that need amendment.”
When probed on the outcome of the ongoing investigation of allegations of fraud leveled against the Scheme, Ibrahim stated that since he is yet to be briefed by the relevant agencies carrying out the investigation, he had nothing to say about the issue.
“There is an administrative committee constituted by the ministry and I don’t want to say anything until I see the report, I have not seeing the report. All these agencies are doing their beat and until their report is submitted officially to me, I will not be able to say anything on that.”
