Health insurance central to FG’s healthcare plans – Osinbajo
- Yemi Osinbajo has said that the national health insurance scheme is paramount to the federal government agenda for the people
The vice president said the scheme remained the best option for the development of the health sector and an efficient healthcare delivery in the country
- According to Osinbajo, federal and state levels cannot adequately provide healthcare services for the almost Nigerian people
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday, April 8, said the federal government has made the National Health Insurance Scheme central to its plans for the healthcare system in the country.
Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, said the vice president communicated this while receiving a delegation of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said an effective National Health Insurance scheme remained the best option for the development of the health sector and an efficient healthcare delivery in the country.
The vice president said that health insurance would remain very prominent in APC’s Next Level document.
“We have a good opportunity to do something about the National Health Insurance within the next four years of our tenure.
“It is obvious that government, at both the federal and state levels cannot adequately provide healthcare services for the almost Nigerian people.”
Citing India as an example, he said that Asian country, with a population of over one billion people had the most privatised healthcare system in the world, with individual states being responsible for providing healthcare services.
READ ALSO: Court of Appeal nullifies election of APC senator-elect Sani Musa
Osinbajo emphasised the need for doctors to be remunerated properly regardless of their location, either rural or urban.
“We must find a logical way of addressing this issue.
“We must ensure that the states pick up their own part of the responsibility of providing healthcare at their own level.
"Through the National Economic Council (NEC), there is the opportunity to talk to State governors and one of the things we do is to look at the human development indices, especially for Primary Health Care.
“There are States that are simply not doing enough and we must ensure that they scale up to the plate. States must be held to account because a lot of the responsibilities are theirs,” he said.
The vice president said that National Health Insurance was key in resolving a lot of the financial problems in the Health Sector
Earlier, the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, spoke about the ministry’s strides in achieving the Universal Health Coverage towards the expansion of the National Health Insurance Scheme.
He thanked the Presidency for the presidential assent to the Appropriation Act, which for the first time, approved the release of the one per cent for Basic Healthcare Provision Fund.
Adewole disclosed that the Ministry of Finance had released the first quarter allocation of N13.7 billion.
Similarly, the minister also said that the Basic Health Care Provision Fund would help in fast tracking the development of the National Health Insurance Scheme.
In his remarks, the President of the Nigerian Medical Association, Francis Faduyile, congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari and Prof. Yemi Osinbajo on their victory at the just concluded 2019 Presidential elections.
He also acknowledged the administration’s efforts in the health sector, which, he said, included the signing of the Residency Training Act, the release of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund, as well as the recently improved Cancer Centre in Lagos University Teaching Hospital.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Adewole had said that 95 per cent of the Nigeria’s 190 million people are not enrolled in any health insurance plan, despite efforts by the federal government to improve health care delivery in the country.
PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigeria’s #1 news app
Adewole made this known on Tuesday, December 25, during the reunion of the 1998 set of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, where he also disclosed that Nigerians had not keyed into the various health insurance schemes the government had set up.
Legit.ng gathered that the minister, represented by the chairman medical advisory committee of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Dr Olufemi Fasanmade, while speaking on the theme, ‘Health system’s improvement:
Achieving universal health coverage’, noted that government and individuals had roles to play in ensuring that the country achieved universal health coverage.
NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better.
N1,500 for health of Nigerians - on Legit.ng TV
Source: Legit.ng
