President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday signed the new National Health Insurance Authority Bill 2022 into law.
Announcing this on his verified Twitter handle, Buhari said that the new law was part of his government’s efforts to achieve universal health coverage for Nigerians.
“As part of our healthcare reforms, I have signed into law the recently passed National Health Insurance Authority Bill 2022, which repeals the National Health Insurance Scheme Act. We will ensure the full implementation of the new Act, to provide coverage for all Nigerians,” Buhari said.
Buhari noted that the new health insurance law will repeal the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) Act of 2004.
According to him, the new law will work in line with state governments health insurance schemes by empowering them (state governments) to accredit primary and secondary healthcare facilities and ensure the enrollment of Nigerians in the scheme.
Note that the chairman of Nigeria’s Senate Committee on Health, Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe, had, since the bill was passed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives, repeatedly advocated for Mr. President to sign the bill into law.
Oloriegbe, representing Kwara Central Senatorial District in the red chamber, had maintained that parts of the content of the new bill made health insurance mandatory for all Nigerians.
