BY SOLA OGUNDIPE
LAGOS— President Goodluck Jonathan has directed the National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS, to accredit the Nigeria Police Health Maintenance Ltd., as a fully-functional health maintenance organisation, HMO.

The directive was sequel to a request by Inspector- General of Police, Mr.

Hafiz Ringim, for presidential intervention in granting approval for Police HMO.

Confirming the approval in Abuja, Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, in a letter to the Chairman, Board of Management of NHIS said: “I write to convey approval of Mr. President that NHIS accredit the National Police Health Maintenance Ltd as a HMO to enable it commence active operations.”

The Health Minister, however, noted that a progress report on the status of implementation of the President’s directive should be submitted to his office on or before the end of November this year, in order to enable him (Minister) brief the President appropriately.

Earlier, in a letter dated August 17, 2011, the Inspector General of Police had urged the President to wade into the lingering issue of non-accreditation of the Police HMO.

Ringim who said, five years after implementation of the NHIS, its benefits are yet to be felt by the Police personnel and their families, described the Police HMO as an initiative that would enhance

access to medical care for Police Personnel in line with the formal sector programme of the NHIS.

Lamenting that bureaucratic bottlenecks had frustrated noble objectives behind establishment of the Police HMO, he noted: “Five years into the Scheme, a large number of Police personnel is yet to be enrolled. There are no visible structures in place by HMOs imposed on the Force by the NHIS to address the numerous shortcomings in their operations.”

He observed that there were no discernible mechanisms to cater for the numerous complaints by Police personnel arising from poor quality healthcare service delivery by the HMOs. “This suggests an incapacity or unwillingness by the HMOs to provide the unexpected quality of services largely owing to the fact that the NHIS, in clear breach of its operational guideline, which requires the employer to appoint the HMO of its choice to manage the Scheme, went ahead without consent of the force and allotted Police personnel to nine HMOs.”

In the letter  Ringim pointed out that since inception of the Scheme, over N25 billion had been charged to the Police overhead in the budget for Police personnel. “Such amount of money, when ploughed into the Police system, could cause an overwhelming uplift in the Police Medical Services department, for the benefit of officers and men of the Force in particular and members of their nuclear and extended families, as well as members of the public in general,” he remarked.

On the compelling need for a Police HMO, Ringim explained that it became necessary for the Police Force to incorporate the Police HMO and to request for accreditation in order to address the peculiarities inherent in provision of healthcare services within the Force.

“The Police HMO will obviously have proper appreciation and better understanding of the entire ramifications of Police operations and also put in place the much desired interface between Police enrollees of the Scheme, the healthcare providers and NHIS,” he argued.