By Augustina Okinedo
With the signing into law of the National Health Insurance Authority Act 2022 on May 19, 2022, there is the need for stakeholders to get acquainted with what is obtainable in the new act in order to make health care services available to everyone.
This formed the premise of a stakeholders forum organised by the Ondo State Office of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), held in Akure the State Capital.
In an opening address, the Ondo State Coordinator , NHIA, Dr Adebisi Adebiyi informed the audience that the new act which he described as encompassing would promote, regulate and integrate all health insurances both at the federal and state levels to ensure seamless service delivery as well as harness private sector participation.
Dr Adebiyi stressed that one peculiarity of the act was the development of a basic minimum package health scheme(BMPHS) for every Nigerian so they could access health insurance services regardless of where they were at any given time.
The head , standards and quality assurance department of Ondo NHIA, Dr Bunmi Oluwasaanu emphasised that health care providers and Health maintenance Organizations(HMOs) should revert to NHIA in cases where there were issues of generating codes, financial claims among others.
In a contribution , the director general ondo state contributory health commission(ODCHC) Dr Abiodun Oyeneyin said efforts were ongoing to get more people enroll into the scheme.
Buttressing this , the Director, standards and quality assurance(ODCHC) Pharm Amos Ayegbusi informed that over 20000 women had benefited from the. ” abiyamo” free health scheme in the state.
Participants at the forum thanked the authority for the interface while appealing for more sensitisation of enrollees on their rights to quality health services under the scheme.
Others who spoke expressed the hope that service delivery of care providers and HMOs would improve especially now that the act was being implemented #