The cruciality of good and available health care doesn’t equal accessibility, as there are many hindrances. Putting them on a scale reveals that Finance occupies the topmost position. Its influence creates a disparity between the quality of health care received by the affluent and the impoverished.
As it should, the discovery of Finance as a hindrance to accessible health care has warranted a lot of concerned bodies to make efforts towards damping its effect. One of such efforts is the creation of NHIS in Nigeria.
The NHIS which stands for “National Health Insurance Scheme”, is a scheme put in place by the government of Nigeria, with the sole aim of providing affordable and accessible health care to the citizens of Nigeria.
In the bid to make provisions for health-related eventualities, we will run through a comprehensive tutorial on how to register for NHIS in Nigeria. However, before we begin, it is imperative we understand how NHIS works.
How Does NHIS Work?
NHIS (National Health Insurance Scheme) is a health insurance scheme designed by the government to help its citizens access appropriate health care, without bothering about the financial implications.
Like any insurance scheme, the NHIS scheme mandates participants to pay a premium to secure inclusion. The funds accrued from all registered participants will be used to service hospital expenses and improve health care, in turn creating an allowance for NHIS members to receive free health, leveraging on the premium they paid.
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The NHIS scheme can be seen as a system designed by the government to give Nigerians an opportunity to contribute towards building and servicing the health care system, in exchange for a health care void of cash.
Programs Under The NHIS
At the time this article was published, the NHIS had four different programs, which are designed to meet the needs of different groups of people. These programs are discussed below:
GIFSHIP: GIFSHIP (Group Individual and Family Social health insuance programme) is a more personalized NHIS scheme, it is designed to serve individuals, families, and groups. Insuring any of these categories will cover health care for the year. Below are the groups under the GIFSHIP, alongside the prices:
- Individual – 45,000 Naira Per Year
- Family – 60,000 Naira Per Year (Maximum of four enrolee and minimum of one enrolee)
- Group – 150,000 Naira Per Year (Minimum of 10, No Maximum)
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Formal sector: The NHIS formal sector program, was designed to meet the needs of people in the public, organized private, and armed forces.
Here, a particular amount will be deducted from the employee’s salary to service the health insurance. This way, they won’t be overwhelmed by a sudden need for medical attention.
Informal Sector Socia Health Insurance Programs: This program serves,
- Community-Based Social Health Insurance Programmes
- Voluntary contributors Social Health Insurance Programmes
Vulnerable Group Social Health Insurance Program: This program is set for physically challenged persons, prison inmates, children under five, pregnant women, refugees and victims of human trafficking
Steps To Register NHIS In Nigeria
Normally, you are supposed to register your perfred NHIS package on NHIS webiste, however, as at the time this article was published, registering on the website was a bit sketchy, there wasn’t really a registeration tab on the website. With all this techicality, your best bet, is to visit any of the physical NHIS offices. So the steps you should follow are outllined as follow:
- Locate the NHIS office nearest to you
- Visit it
- Inform them of the package you desire
- Inquire the funds required
- Pay, register and begin enjoying the NHIS plan
NHIS Offices in Nigeria
In order to meet the objective behind the existence of the NHIS plan, the bodies in charge have planted a plethora of NHIS offices across different states. As at the time this article was created, NHIS had about 47 offices in Nigeria. To check the NHIS locations in Nigeria, click here.
Wrapping up: There you have it – a comprehensive tutorial on how to register for NHIS in Nigeria. If you have any contributions, feel free to drop them in the comment section below.