The National Health Insurance Scheme has launched a “Roche Cost Sharing Initiative” aimed at subsidizing cancer drugs in the country.
The Executive Secretary NHIS, Dr Mohammed Sambo made this known at a capacity building for broadcast media.
The NHIS, earlier developed a medicine supply initiative designed to address the problem of out of stock of some specific drugs and complaints of substandard drugs by enrollees.
The initiative would have drug manufacturers produce NHIS branded drugs at affordable cost.
To this end, NHIS unveiled its Roche Cost Sharing Initiative in Seven tertiary hospitals to subsidize cancer drugs by 50%.
According to the Executive Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sambo, out of the 50% subsidy, the Scheme would pay 30% while the enrollees would pay 20%.
He explained that the initiative was to make health affordable, available and accessible by enrollees.
The hospitals include National Hospital Abuja, UCH Ibadan, UNTH Enugu, FMC Gombe, UBTH Benin, ABU teaching Hospital Zaria, and Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital.
Other measures put in place to make health insurance for all is the implementation of the basic health care provision fund.
Dr Mohammed Sambo said over 14billion naira had been disbursed to benefiting states.
Meanwhile to further strengthen the scheme, the NHIS is to unveil a comprehensive digital Technology Infrastructure called the e-NHIS, this is to digitalize health insurance business processes in the country.
RADIO NIGERIA