Nigerians will soon access good quality and affordable health care services when and where ever they need it regardless of financial and social status, if the National Health bill is passed into law. This assertion was made at a forum for stakeholders, enrolees, healthcare facilities and Health Maintenance Organizations, HMOs, of the National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS, in Port-Harcourt recently.

The South-South Zonal Coordinator, NHIS, Mr. Nasiru Ikharo, said the foundation of universal health coverage is access to good quality and affordable healthcare service as at when it is needed.

This, he said, is the vision of NHIS that is mandated to facilitate fair financing and delivery of good quality and affordable healthcare services to Nigerians and residents of Nigeria by 2015.

It could be recalled that the content of the current National health bill has a provision for 1 percent of the consolidated revenue account of the Federal government recommended for NHIS to give health insurance cover for the vulnerable groups that include those who cannot afford to contribute to the national health insurance fund. This 1 percent Federal contribution to the vulnerable groups’ funding could amount N40 billion necessary to boost the contributed funds of the NHIS.

Ikharo also revealed that the Scheme is considering several financing options for the vulnerable groups’ fund that will include cross subsidization from other programmes and sources soon to be made public.