Reps to probe NHIS, HMOs over multi-billion naira disbursement

The House of Representatives on Thursday urged the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to put on hold further quarterly release of funds to the Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) pending the outcome of investigation on disbursement of the funds in the agency  by the House.

The House then mandated the Committee on Healthcare Services to conduct an investigation on the activities of the HMOs and healthcare providers for the past eight years with a view to identifying how the money was expended by the HMOs.

The House resolution followed a motion sponsored by Honourable Chike Okafor and Henry Nwawuba entitled, ‘Urgent need to investigate the compliance rate of HMOs to the NHIS contributions and utilisation of funds by the healthcare providers and inhumane treatment of enrolees.’

He said that the HMOs had received over  N351 billion from the scheme since inception in 2005, saying that, “it is regrettable to realise that the services cover less than 4 per cent of Nigerians which is the current coverage of the scheme, and that there were reports of alleged diversion of contributions amounting to billions of naira.”

Moving the motion, the lawmaker said that, “the Federal Government pays 3.5 per cent while its employees pay 1.7 per cent amounting to 5.2 per cent of the monthly salary of a Federal Government worker; while the state government, the local government and the organised private sector employers pay 10 per cent and the employees pay 5 per cent amounting to 15 per cent of their monthly salary and these monies are deducted directly from their salaries even when the services from which the premium deductions are made, are not rendered satisfactorily.”

The motion was adopted when it was put to vote by the Speaker, Honourable Yakubu Dogara.