The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Act, which was signed in May by President Muhammadu Buhari, was praised by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for making health insurance mandatory for Nigerians.
It was observed that making health insurance mandatory in Nigeria would guarantee that the country’s impoverished and most vulnerable citizens have access to high-quality treatment and that productivity would increase, spurring economic growth.
Speaking to Prof. Mohammed Sambo, Director-General of the NHIA, in Abuja, was NBA President Yakubu Maikyau.
Over 1,000 NBA players would receive free health insurance, he promised.
Maikyau said: “The benefits with this authority are the guarantee of financing for healthcare access to Nigerians. If you have healthy people, you can guarantee productivity. The public sector, entertainers etc. will be efficient because we have got it right. Also, the pressure suffered by doctor will go down.
“The inadequacy for the budgetary allocation for health will be dealt with. Also, the pressure on facilities will reduce, and they will begin to regain their sanity. This will lead to providing a healthy, productive people and nation.
“NBA has looked at the law and seen the innovation the law has brought in. I am delighted that health insurance is compulsory for Nigerians because there can’t be justice if we cannot guarantee the wellbeing of Nigerians; health is a right they should enjoy…
“We will interrogate the grey areas in the most civil way to get clarity. This will be done by the court. This will give it meaning to see the primary objective of the law.”
Prof. Sambo, appreciating the support of NBA, said it would ramp up efforts to engage critical stakeholders and ensure the over 83 million vulnerable Nigerians were captured in the health insurance net as promised by President Muhammadu Buhari.