Nigeria: Govt Seeks Increase in Basic Healthcare Provision Fund

The federal government has said it will soon approach the National Assembly to seek increase in allocations to the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF), from the current one per cent of Consolidated Revenue to at least two per cent.

It said one of the key deliverables of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare under the presidential performance bond was to enrol at least 44 million Nigerians into the National Health Insurance by 2030.

The move came just as the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Mohammad Pate, said the present administration is determined to put an end to out of pocket expenditure on health care by Nigerians.

Speaking yesterday at the National Health Financing Policy Dialogue in Abuja themed Reimagining a New Era of Health Financing Health, the Miñister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, said the federal government is committed to the evolution of legislations regulations and policies targeted at removing the burden of healthcare expenditure on individuals.

Salako said that one of such legislations is the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Act (2022), which made health insurance mandatory for all Nigerians.

He said NHIA is aimed at significantly expanding coverage beyond the previous 5 percent of the population.

“The Act also establishes a Vulnerable Group Fund to cover the poor and vulnerable who cannot afford premiums. The Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) instituted by the 2014 National Health Act, leverages 1 percent of the federal consolidated revenue to provide access to quality primary healthcare for the poor and vulnerable, and it is a key mechanism for operationalizing the Vulnerable Group Fund.

“The Ministry is already examining the possibility of approaching the National Assembly to increase the allocation to BHCPF from the current one percent of consolidated revenue to at least two percent,” he said.

Salako said that President Bola Tinubu has directed the implementation of several interconnected policies to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and protect vulnerable Nigerians.

“A key deliverable of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare under the presidential performance bond that we signed is to enroll at least 44 million Nigerians into the National Health Insurance by 2030 so that we can reduce out-of-pocket expenditure on health which currently remains at an unacceptable rate of about 70 percent.

Pate who declared the event open, said that government considers the continued out of pocket payment for medical treatment by Nigerians as unsustainable and must end.

The Miñister said there is an urgent need to develop alternative domestic finding sources for the health sector following the sudden cut in donor financing.

“Now it’s two years, and earlier this year we had the major shock, which I think opened our eyes, that in reality we were deluded to think that we can build a healthy nation on the back of somebody else’s taxpayer.

“That we have to find ways to increasingly invest our own resources, because health, wherever it is found, wherever it’s produced, it’s not cheap. If you want to get good health, you have to pay for it,” he said.

Pate explained that the federal government of Nigeria has already increased its own contribution to the health sector in the last two years of this administration, adding that expectations are that Subnational governments like states and local governments will follow in that direction.

His words, “That we have to find ways to increasingly investing our own resources, because health, wherever it is found, wherever it’s produced, it’s not cheap. If you want to get good health, you have to pay for it.

“Somebody has to pay for it. That illusion that you can actually get good quality health system without paying for it, is an illusion. In fact, it’s foolish.”

Pate said the hope is at the end of the 4-Dialogue sessions, “state governments will also commit to matching up, as well as for all actors in the healthcare market, work with the NHIA to ensure that we organize the private spend better through bigger risk pools, and for the regulators to be able to purchase quality services for Nigerians”.

“We’ve already seen a huge increase in the enrollment of Nigerians in health insurance, 4 million new enrollees in just 18 months.

“At that rate, if we had been doing it for 20 years, there would be more than 60 million Nigerians covered. But unfortunately, that hasn’t happened until now. So, we’re seeing a change in the direction,” he said.

While welcoming participants at the dialogue session, the Director General of Nigeria Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr. Kelechi Ohiri, said the purpose of the campaign to get most Nigerians enrolled into the health insurance scheme is to stop out of pocket spending on medical bills.

He said the agency has so far registered about 2.7 million Nigerians who are poor and vulnerable under the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund facility.

He said the dialogue will seek to advance accountability and transparency in health financing, “unlocking private sector participation, better involving the other federated entities, the states and the local governments, as well as our development partners”.

By This Day.