The Lagos State Government has given residents until December 31, 2026, to obtain health insurance, warning that enforcement of the mandatory coverage policy will begin on January 1, 2027.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced the deadline in a statement issued on Tuesday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Gboyega Akosile.
The policy, introduced under Executive Order EO/BOS/01 of 2024, requires residents, employers and workers to obtain health insurance as part of efforts to expand access to healthcare and reduce the financial burden of medical expenses on households.
Sanwo-Olu announced the enforcement timeline while unveiling the Lagos Private Health Plans, an initiative designed to extend coverage to salaried workers and corporate organisations.
According to the statement, the governor said the policy was intended to ensure that residents could access quality healthcare without suffering financial hardship.
He also urged businesses to treat employees’ healthcare as an essential operating cost, alongside pensions and other employment obligations.
The governor directed healthcare providers to stabilise patients requiring emergency treatment before addressing payment or insurance concerns. He stressed that financial constraints should not prevent patients from receiving emergency care.
The Lagos Private Health Plans will complement Ilera Eko, the state’s existing health insurance scheme, which serves vulnerable residents and people working in the informal sector.
The government said 21 health maintenance organisations had endorsed participation in the new private plans, which are expected to strengthen collaboration between the state and private healthcare providers.
Lagos increases Health Equity Fund to N3bn
The state government has increased its Health Equity Fund from N1bn to N3bn to expand insurance coverage for more than 500,000 vulnerable residents who cannot afford the required premiums.
The Chairman of the Lagos State Health Management Agency, Dr Adebayo Adedewe, said the agency would intensify enrolment and public awareness campaigns to bring more residents into the scheme.
He said the campaigns would use radio, billboards and digital platforms, while traditional rulers, market associations, transport unions and other community groups would help reach residents at the grassroots.
Under the proposed arrangement, the new private health plans will focus on salaried workers and corporate organisations, while Ilera Eko will continue serving vulnerable people and residents in the informal sector.
The Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, said rising healthcare costs, driven partly by advances in medical technology, including artificial intelligence, robotics and modern diagnostic equipment, had made insurance coverage increasingly important.
He argued that a more inclusive health insurance system would protect households from escalating medical bills and ease the pressure that out-of-pocket payments place on families and healthcare facilities.
Lagos records 2.76 million health insurance enrollees
The latest enforcement timeline follows an earlier government plan to commence full implementation of mandatory health insurance in the third quarter of 2025. The policy is based on an executive order signed by Sanwo-Olu in July 2024.
Data from the National Health Insurance Authority show that Lagos recorded 2.76 million health insurance enrollees in 2025, ranking second nationally behind Delta State.
The Lagos State Social Health Insurance Programme accounted for 1.10 million enrollees, while the federal formal sector recorded 256,525 enrollees in the state.
Private health maintenance organisations covered approximately 1.18 million Lagos residents, the highest state-level figure recorded for private HMO coverage in the country.
The figure represents more than half of the 2.17 million people enrolled nationwide under private HMOs, highlighting Lagos’s significant share of Nigeria’s private health insurance market.
The state government’s latest measures are aimed at expanding coverage and encouraging more residents to obtain insurance before enforcement begins in January 2027.
