Health Insurance Gulps N1.2bn In Six States

The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has so far spent the sum of N1.2  billion in the second year of implementation of the NHIS Maternal and Child Health Project as part of efforts to reduce the rate of maternal mortality in the country.

The Executive Secretary of the NHIS, Dr Waziri Dogo-Muhammed stated this at a technical review meeting with Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) involved in phase two of the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) project being implemented in six selected states across the country.

According to him, funds earmarked for various activities under the projects are being put to effective use, saying that money spent on healthcare delivery should improve the country’s health indices.

 “If we are to spend more money on health, there has to be better health for the money spent”, he argued.

He debunked recent reports suggesting that the scheme has not remitted funds in HMOs regularly, expressing disappointment that no HMO had reacted to the unfounded report.

Dogo-Muhammed enjoined HMOs to carryout mobilization and sensitization efforts, emphasizing that the scheme is a regulator, and would no longer be distracted from its statutory roles.

He observed that the recently disseminated National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) has showed that more work need to be done in the implementation of the MCH project.

The health insurance boss further urged stakeholders to fine tune their strategies for the accomplishment of the task.

On challenges encountered in registering beneficiaries under the project, Dogo-Muhammed encouraged HMOs to explore more fool proof mechanism, maintaining that accurate data was key to the success of the programme.

He also assured that NHIS will continue to develop programmes for all segments of the population, adding that it is the responsibility of all stakeholders to ensure that they carryout effective implementation of their project.