HMO suggests overhaul of health sector to reach UHC

Premier Medicaid International has proposed chopping the country into “health blocks overseen” by health maintenance organisations as the “surest was toward attaining universal health coverage.”  Premier suggests each health block should cover an estimated 10,000 prospective enrollees allotted randomly or by open ballot by National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), amounting to 17,000 for the entire […]

Premier Medicaid International has proposed chopping the country into “health blocks overseen” by health maintenance organisations as the “surest was toward attaining universal health coverage.” 
Premier suggests each health block should cover an estimated 10,000 prospective enrollees allotted randomly or by open ballot by National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), amounting to 17,000 for the entire country.
In a communiqué issued in Ibadan, Premier chief executive officer, Dr. Kayode Obembe, past president of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), said each health block should be headed by a consultant.
 “All wards within a health block should be organised in Ward Health Organisations (WHO) units, with the traditional ruler in that ward as the patron,” he explained.
“There should be a healthcare provider at each ward; where there is no doctor at all, a doctor from NYSC can be posted there,” noted Obembe.
“Residency Training Programme should make it compulsory that a resident doctor should spend six months in a health block as part of acquiring community experience towards becoming a consultant,” he said.
A health tax fund, with input from private sector is expected to finance health care, while HMOs are held accountable in each block, Obembe added.