Operators of Health Management Organisations (HMOs) have expressed concerns over the plan to set up a separate HMO for civil servants in the country.
The group said the plan contravene the law governing health insurance in the country, adding that the the law was self explicit as it places the private sector as the driver of the scheme.
Recall that the permanent secretary, Ministry of Defence, Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar Kana recently announced plans to set up an HMO specifically for Civil Servants.
But Health and Managed Care Association of Nigeria, said the idea is illegal and it contravene the guidelines and rules guiding the Health Insurance.
The Spokesperson of the HMOs, Dr. Lekan Ewenla, said the call by the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Defence, was a misplaced one and an abuse of office.
Ewenla said it was only the military that was allowed to float a separate HMO because it has its own hospitals and health personnel across the country.
He, therefore, said that the permanent secretary‘s latest call, though knocked back by the Minister of Health, Muhammad Pate, is a call on the government to investigate some of the abnormalities in the HMOs, like the setting up of Police HMO and NNPC HMO.
He said what is expected of the government is to provide the enabling environment for the private sector to drive the economy, saying that the call was nothing but a distraction that should not be allowed to go uninvestigated.
From the law setting up health insurance in this country, and the guidelines guiding the operations of insurance in Nigeria. It‘s very clear that health insurance is a private business that is meant to be driven by private individuals, private companies. that are registered by CAC amd have fulfilled all the requirements of the law.
For example, in this country, we have three categories of HMOs. They have City HMOs, Zonal HMOs and national HMOs. The requirement for share capital for national HMO as we speak today is N750 million.
So if somebody in the government sleeps and wakes up and begins to think of setting up civil servants‘ HMO, we should be asking that person where he gets the money from? Who are the promoters of the HMO, Who are going to be on the board of that HMO where would they set up the infrastructure that are needed to drive the national HMO,“ he said.
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