The Health Management Organisations in Nigeria have faulted the move by the Federal Government to establish a new HMO to cater to the civil servants in the country.
The HMOs, who spoke on the FG’s plan said, it does not have the backing of the law of setting up an HMO.
The Ministry of Defence had last Thursday on its website said the new HMO would be called the Federal Civil Service Health Maintenance Limited.
Meanwhile, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, over the weekend faulted the announcement of the Ministry of Defence on the approval of the new HMO.
According to Pate, the new announcement is worrisome and far from being concluded.
A copy of the 2023 National Health Insurance Authority operational guidelines obtained by our correspondent on Monday on the statutory requirements for setting up an HMO revealed that the applicant must submit to the NHIA evidence that it is duly incorporated limited liability or public company in Nigeria under the Companies and Allied Matters Act.
Other requirements showed that the applicant must possess the requisite paid-up share capital as defined by the NHIA; satisfy all requirements prescribed by the provisions of the NHIA Act 2022, other relevant laws, or any such additional requirements or conditions as may be prescribed from time to time by the NHIA; and met the mandatory security deposit requirement of 20 per cent of paid-up share capital.
Findings showed that the paid-up share capital requirement as recently reviewed by the regulatory agency is N750m, while the mandatory security deposit requirement of 20 per cent of paid-up share capital is about N150m.
However, stakeholders in the health management sector have urged President Bola Tinubu and Pate to ensure that the request to establish a new HMO for civil servants is not approved.
They argued that such a move would not enhance the well-being of Nigerians through the health insurance programme.
According to them, it is no longer the government’s business to do business and for all nations to develop, the government must restrict itself to setting up the regulatory framework and machinery.
They stressed the need for the government to focus on creating an enabling environment for the private sector to drive the process and the economy.
The Chairman of the Health and Managed Care Association of Nigeria, and Managing Director at AIICO Multishield Limited, Dr Leke Oshunniyi, said such a move does not have the backing of the law because the NHIA Act of May 2022 entrusts the management of the care of civil servants to the NHIA itself.
He said, “First, for this new idea to even begin to take ground, you have to change the NHIA law. You have to repeal and re-enact the NHIA Act of 2022. Secondly, the business of health insurance in Nigeria was designed to be driven by the public-private partnership concept, in the sense that the two entities must work together. By doing this, the civil servants are asking for it to be a government-government business. The government has no business with business. Health insurance is a business.
“Thirdly, the very agency that the government wants to displace is the agency entrusted with running the scheme. So, it’s like a snake trying to swallow its tail. Fourthly, it’s an incredibly complex business that would involve the proposed civil public service HMO to interact with at least 6,000 hospitals nationwide.
“The capacity does not currently reside within the public service to manage it. And if they were going to outsource it, there was no point in doing it at all. The civil service today of the Federal Republic of Nigeria cannot manage that scheme on its own without the NHIA, so they would have to outsource the services.”
On his part, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Ultimate Health HMO, Lekan Ewenla, stated that setting up an HMO for civil servants is like setting up another Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate which has been seen to be a pipeline for siphoning funds by civil servants.
This, he said, informed part of the government’s decision to scrap such a body.
Ewenla said, “The request is a self-serving interest designed to serve the interest of a few and strongly determined to lock the country down health-wise. The Presidency should ask basic questions before making decisions on that, especially in knowing the financiers of the HMO.
“Who puts down the N750m paid-up share capital for setting it up? Who puts down the 20 per cent of paid-up share capital as a security fund? Who finances the setting up of the operational structure required of an HMO across the country? Who is going to be on the Board of Directors? What are the main objectives of setting up the HMO? Is it to enhance the well-being of civil servants, to make money, or to divert funds?
“We know this administration is out to fight and reduce corruption to the barest minimum if not to eliminate it. Hence, such a request should not be approved by the presidency and the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate.”
