The Federal Government (FG) on Thursday, launched the Group, Individual and Family Health Insurance Programme(GIFSHIP) of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
It said the initiative will rapidly expand the scope of healthcare coverage in its urgent quest to attain Universal Health Coverage for all.
Speaking in Abuja at the flag-off of the programme, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire said the GIFSHIP was a product of the lessons learned and the experience gained from implementing a previous programme, the Vital Contributors Social Health Insurance Programme (VCSHIP).
According to him, the new programme addresses the challenges and barriers encountered during implementation of the VCSHIP, both by beneficiaries and operators.
He noted that the Federal Executive Council(FEC)recently approved the e-NHIS Project, a robust ICT infrastructure deployed to facilitate enrolee verification, access to care, data collection and management.
“It will include analytics, which will feed into a disease map that will be of great benefit in management of public health across the nation,” he added.
He noted that the comprehensive ICT profile will be deployed to facilitate the implementation of GIFSHIP, among other activities of NHIS, and give subscribers easier access to service and more value for money that will support their health-seeking endeavours.
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He further explained that the Basic healthcare provision fund will be dedicated to the poor and vulnerable as captured in its social register.
“The data, financial and claims management will be assured with the secured electronic platform set up in collaboration with NIGCOMSAT and approved by the Federal Executive Council, that will issue each enrolee a personal e-card that allows him to access medical treatment anywhere in the country, while fully assuring privacy and data protection,” he added.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the NHIS, Prof. Mohammed Nasir Sambo stressed that the NHIS is undergoing massive reforms through the Three-Point Rebranding Agenda.
He said the three Point Rebranding Agenda is anchored on “Restoring a value system that will transform NHIS into a credible result-driven organisation, Engendering transparency and accountability in the entire operations of the Scheme, and Accelerating the drive towards achieving universal access to quality healthcare for all Nigerians.”
He said the new programme will enable individuals, families and groups to join the NHIS ecosystem.
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