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The Start of the Nigerian National Health Insurance Scheme
The idea of creating a governmental body to address health care concerns in Nigeria had its origins in 1962, but the idea was shot down at the time by government officials. [Alhaji Abdulsalami Abubaker|Abdulsalami Abubaker] enacted NHIS into military law on 10th May 1999, but the Nigerian public had to wait 40 more years for the NHIS to become official. President Olusegun Obasanjo became the first registered NHIS member when he formally launched the agency in 2006, which shows that the people of Nigeria no longer had to wait for 40 years before getting to enjoy these health benefits.

The Scheme established under Act 35 of 1999 by the Federal Government of Nigeria, is aimed at providing easy access to healthcare for all Nigerians at an affordable cost through various prepayment systems.

Enrolee Rights
You can now register an online account with NHIS. In the future,e you will be able to select your healthcare facility for yourself and an alternative healthcare facility for all or some of your dependents if you are not residing in the same location. You will be informed when your child-dependant is approaching the age of eighteen (18) and will no longer be eligible to be a participant.

Enrolee Rights consists of:
 * Right of access to medical treatment as covered by the benefit package under the Scheme.
 * Right to choose a provider of his/her choice as long as such a provider is accredited by the Scheme.
 * Right to be issued with an NHIS identity card after being registered with the Scheme.
 * Right to change Primary Healthcare Provider after three (3) months of initial access.
 * Right to immediately change his/her provider if the facility is closed, relocated or the employee is on transfer to another town.
 * Right to complain to the HMO about any act of negligence on the part of the Healthcare providers.
 * Right to access medical care for a spouse and four (4) biological children.
 * Right to give constructive criticism of the operational methods of the Scheme.
 * Right to be referred for specialized investigations or care. Referral means sending a patient for a range of specialized investigations or *care through the recognized three levels of services:
 * Referrals made by the primary healthcare provider to the secondary provider.
 * Referrals made by the secondary provider to tertiary provider.
 * Lateral referral from one specialist to another within the same level.

Diseases covered under the scheme
The Government came up with a benefit package for Nigerian citizens. The scheme covers over 95% of diseases in Nigeria.

Out Patient Services
Conditions treated at outpatient setting includes:
 * Malaria
 * Diarrhoea
 * Acute respiratory infection
 * Skin Diseases
 * Hypertension
 * Diabetes
 * Asthma
 * Ulcers
 * Dental caries
 * Any other approved by the Minister of Health

In Patient Service

 * Surgical operation including removal of appendix
 * General and specialist in-patient care
 * Feeding(where available)
 * Cervical cancer
 * Breast cancer

Oral Health

 * Pain relief including incision and tooth extraction
 * Dental restoration which includes simple amalgam

Maternity Care

 * Antenatal care
 * Caesarean section
 * Postnatal care

Emergencies

 * Pediatric emergencies
 * Road Traffic Accidents
 * Medical emergencies including brain surgery or heart surgery due to accidents
 * Workplace accidents

Exclusions
The following health care services are not covered under the NHIS:
 * Rehabilitation other than physiotherapy
 * VIP ward accommodation
 * Mortuary services
 * Orthoptics
 * Dialysis for chronic kidney failure
 * Organ Transplanting
 * Cosmetic surgeries and aesthetic treatment. However, reconstructive surgery on burns is covered.
 * Cancer treatment other than cervical and breast cancer
 * Organ Transplantation
 * Diagnosis and treatment abroad

Scheme Coverage
The number of Nigerians covered by the NHIS after 12 years are 1.5 percent of the population. the scheme encompasses government employees, the organized private sector and the informal sector. Legislative wise, the scheme also covers children under five, permanently disabled persons and prison inmates.

Controversies
The Executive secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Yusuf Usman, resumed work but was later welcomed by a protest at the premise of the headquarters in Nigeria. The reason for the protest is quite simple, the man in question, is under investigation, so it makes little sense to put him back in the position for which he is being investigated a countless number of accusations have been made against him as he has shown a lack of competence to deliver in his current post. The current government has a plan to eradicate corruption but the General Secretary is not living up to that standard, he runs the office with a lot of nepotism, tribalism, ethnicity, and religiosity. He leaves a lot to be desired. It has raised a lot of eyebrows and although the sitting president has not made any remarks about the situation, the minister of education has come out to say that the secretary's resuming of work would not affect investigations Many disagree!