The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Ultimate Health Management Services, Otunba Lekan Ewenla, has urged the Federal Government and key private-sector stakeholders to intensify nationwide awareness campaigns aimed at improving compliance with mandatory health insurance regulations.
In a statement on Thursday, Ewenla called for deeper collaboration between Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) and the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) to ensure that employers with five or more staff fully understand — and comply with — the Federal Government’s directive requiring enrollment of their employees in a health insurance scheme.
Ewenla noted that HMOs, as central operators in Nigeria’s health insurance ecosystem, should work closely with the National Health Insurance Authority and NECA to drive public enlightenment and secure systematic adherence to the law.
He argued that compliance should not translate to additional financial strain for companies, as employers are already obligated to cover their workers’ medical needs. Instead, he advised firms to convert existing medical allowances into health insurance premiums.
“The standard payroll structure already allocates a percentage of basic salary as medical allowance, along with other benefits,” he explained.
Citing precedent, he recalled that during the rollout of the public-sector health insurance scheme in 2005, the Federal Government redirected 10 percent of civil servants’ basic salary — previously paid as medical allowance — to cover their health insurance premium. He insisted that the same model remains suitable for private-sector adoption.
According to Ewenla, the mandatory-enrolment policy also seeks to establish a unified national database of insured Nigerians, linked to their National Identification Numbers, to improve planning and accountability in the health sector.
He expressed confidence that expanding health insurance coverage would boost funding inflows and strengthen healthcare infrastructure, ultimately helping to curb the mass migration of medical professionals.
“With increased enrollment, the healthcare sector will attract more revenue. Facilities will be able to pay better, and we will see many doctors and nurses returning to take up appointments,” he said.
