By Yemis Izuora-Lagos
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Avon Healthcare Limited, Adesimbo Ukiri has tasked stakeholders in the health insurance industry to be more customer focused, develop consumer insights and introduce health plans that speak to the different needs of Nigerians’ teeming population.
Ukiri who made the call while speaking at the recent Roundtable on Healthcare Financing in Lagos acknowledged that whilst this legislation remained key to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for Nigeria still a lot need to be achieved in terms of improving penetration levels even ahead of the promulgation of the NHIS bill into law.
She said with or without passage of the NHIS bill, HMOs can convert Nigerians from making often unaffordable out of pocket payments to meet Healthcare needs.
Subscribing to a health plan is the most cost effective way to have financial access to quality healthcare services and Nigerians need to be made aware of this.”
She stressed that there is a lot that the industry can do to create awareness and sensitize the public to the benefits of subscribing to a health insurance plan with licensed HMOs.
She said: “If we want to achieve the goal of Universal Health Coverage, scaling up enrolment is imperative. HMOs should not just rely on the passing of the NHIS Bill, which will make subscription to a health plan mandatory. We should also task ourselves to win the hearts and minds of Nigerians, convincing them that it is in their best interest to subscribe to a health plan. Let’s challenge ourselves to develop different options and propositions with respect to health plans and products that speak to the needs of different market segments and consumer base within the country.”