Jude Chukwuemeka
Health insurance experts believe that it will take many years before most Nigerians would be able reap the benefits of a health insurance because it is still a luxury and is limited to the handful people who only are able to pay for the service.
The importance of a health insurance cannot be overemphasized. It is a way to pay for health care, and it protects the bearer from the burden of paying the cost of medical service if one is sick or injured or needs medical attention in any way.
Health insurance is similar to car insurance or home insurance where an individual chooses a plan and agrees to pay a fixed amount known as premium monthly or annually. In return, the insurer agrees to bear a portion of the medical costs.
These days, more experts are speaking out in Nigeria, urging both government and health experts to make health insurance available to the masses. Healthcare is a very important parameter and it should be given more priority than other problems, they say.
Nigerians have often expressed huge concerns about the gap between the Nigerian masses and their access to proper healthcare and healthcare experts greatly emphasise on the need for mandatory medical health insurance scheme for all the Nigerians.
The Nigeria Medical Association’s (NMA) once called the authorities to instantaneously start the discharge of the 2014 National Health Act. They also added the need for a primary healthcare system in the states. On April 27, 2015 the Nigerian National Telecommunications Carrier, Globacom unveiled mobile health insurance product in Abuja, to foster Nigerians access to quality healthcare.
While initiatives like these and others can go a long way to bridging the gaps in the healthcare system, it is to be noted that pursuing medical profession is a very costly affair with undergraduates paying about N3 million per session and making it difficult for Nigerians who are brilliant minded but with average financial background to get into medical profession.
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