Chuks Udo Okonta
The Federal Government is currently exploring means of making the health insurance scheme compulsory for everybody, Minister for Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, has said.
Chukwu who disclosed this at a press parley in Benin, said, Nigerians can only enjoy affordable health services when they embrace health insurance scheme.
The minister expressed regret that years after the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) commenced in the country, only employees of three states and the Federal Government currently enjoy the benefits of the scheme.
He noted that people at the rural areas stands to benefit more if they key into the scheme through the Community Health Social Insurance Scheme.
He said: "The challenges of the NHIS is that the law establishing it did not make it compulsory for everybody.
"I want this law reviewed in a way that it will be compulsory for all employers of labour, in both public and private to buy health insurance for their employees.
"If key into, especially at the rural area, it will encourage young doctors to establish hospitals any where in the country.
"They will no longer go to big cities to establish because they are guaranteed of regular income."
He said the federal government is doing everything to ensure Nigerians enjoy the best of health services in the country.
Chukwu said while the government was busy providing various health facilities in most tertiary health institutions across the country, it was also providing the enabling environment for private ones to thrive.
"To encourage the establishment of private hospitals, government has approve duty free for medical equipment to be imported into the country," he added.
On Nigerians quest for seeking medical attention abroad, the said federal government was not to be blamed.
He noted that to discourage this, the Federal Government recently gave a directive that any federal sponsored medical trip abroad would only involved those cases that cannot be taken care of in the country.
On the issue of incessant strike action by medical practitioners, the minister regrets these actions are to the detriment of other sector of the economy.
"Thou not peculiar to the health sector, but the strike is always about increment in wages.
"It is not just enough to fight for more wages, this will not solve Nigeria's problem. We spend so much on recurrent expenditure as it were," he said.
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