The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has given the leadership of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) a seven-working-day ultimatum to resign or face nationwide protests over concerns about the agency’s leadership, performance and the implementation of its programmes.
NANS public relations officer, Comrade Obidah David, called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene urgently, review the leadership of the authority and ensure its repositioning under a leadership capable of delivering meaningful reforms.
The association said it would mobilise students across the country for mass protests and coordinated demonstrations if the Director-General of NHIA, Dr Kelechi Ohiri, failed to step down within the stipulated period.
It expressed concern over questions surrounding the authority’s operations and the implementation of its programmes, particularly its ability to fulfil its statutory responsibility of expanding access to affordable, quality and equitable healthcare for Nigerians.
“Nigeria’s health insurance system must not become a structure where policies exist primarily on paper while citizens continue to struggle with access to medical services, administrative bottlenecks, inadequate healthcare coverage and challenges associated with the effective utilisation of their insurance benefits.
“The purpose of health insurance is to provide protection, not to create another layer of bureaucracy between citizens and the healthcare they deserve,” NANS stated.
The association warned against a situation where health insurance policies existed mainly on paper while citizens continued to grapple with administrative bottlenecks, inadequate coverage and difficulties accessing medical services.
NANS also called for reforms in the operations and regulation of Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs), insisting on stronger regulatory supervision, effective monitoring of accredited healthcare facilities, timely settlement of legitimate healthcare providers’ claims and protection of enrollees against arbitrary denial of medical services.
The association further raised concerns over the implementation of the NYSC Corps Members Health Insurance Scheme, saying that a programme designed to guarantee healthcare protection for corps members serving across the country should not be hindered by accessibility and implementation challenges.