Buhari Signs Law Making Health Insurance a Must for All
By Sahabi Abdul
All Nigerians will now be required to have health insurance after President Muhammadu Buhari signed a new bill to that effect into law.
“This act repeals the National Health Insurance Scheme Act and enacts the National Health Insurance Authority Act to ensure the attainment of universal health coverage in Nigeria,” Umar El-Yakubu, a senior presidential adviser on the House of Representatives, told reporters on Thursday.
With almost half of the Nigerian population living below the poverty line, healthcare has been unaffordable for a large majority of its citizens. Most rely on self medication, pharmacy attendants and traditional healers to take care of their health problems.
It remains to be seen how effective the new law will be, given that with the high cost of medical treatment in Nigeria, most health management organizations don’t handle subscribers with serious ailments that are expensive to treat.