Nigeria’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has announced plans to make health insurance paperless in Nigeria, signing a Memorandum of Understanding that will make health insurance available to Nigerians for NGN250 (US$1.54) per month.
Dr Femi Thomas, executive secretary of NHIS, said this at the fifth anniversary and inauguration of Redcare Health Services’ head office in Ilupeju, Lagos, saying the MoU would digitalise insurance in Nigeria.
“The business of health maintenance is growing day by day in Nigeria with new challenges that we have to cope with. We want to make health insurance paperless by next month; enrollment, monitoring will be digitalised,” Thomas said.
“We just signed a Memorandum of Understanding for Mobile Health Insurance and will become operational in next few weeks in Nigeria. It means people will now be able to register with their mobile devices, pay, and choose their Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs). It also means that HMOs must make themselves more visible for Nigerians to access them.
“With it, notification of referrals will be digitalised and transfer will be easier. The HMOs are expected to comply or face sanction. The device will only cost NGN250 subscription monthly.”
He said the move would improve the standard of education in the country and has advised HMOs to embrace adapt to the mobile system.
