NHIS with tears

Despite the prevailing challenges facing the nation’s health sector, another problem that calls for urgent solution is rearing its ugly head.

I am calling on the minister of Health to look into the activities of the National Health Insurance Scheme  (NHIS). As a victim of the nonchalant attitude of health officials under the NHIS, I must say that if serious action is not taken to save it, the programme may soon collapse.

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As a staff of one of the federal government’s agencies, I’m under a private hospital named UMC Zahir. Many patients have been smoothly receiving care from the hospital under NHIS. All of a sudden, for failure of the NHIS to settle some payments to UMC Zahir Hospital Kano, they have been asked to transfer themselves to a government hospital.

Although, most of the affected patients are pregnant women, the hospital didn’t hesitate to send them to a government owned hospital. The affected patients pleaded with NHIS to give them room to choose another government hospital, where they’ll enjoy maximum care because the hospital they were transferred to is not good enough to take care of some of their problems. But their pleas fell on deaf ears as the NHIS insisted on referring them to a new hospital with no record of their respective problems.

This has thrown many patients into untold hardships and sufferings. Most of the affected patients are expectant mothers and some of them had been referred to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH). But unfortunately, AKTH refused to admit them despite getting referral HMO Life Care Partners Limited. Therefore, we appeal to the health minister to intervene in this case.

Hassan Muhammad can be reached via ([email protected])