New Health Insurance Act Doesn’t Impose Telecoms Tax, Says NHIA
Onyebuchi Ezigbo
The Countrywide Overall health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has explained the new National Wellness Insurance policy Authority (NHIA) Act just lately signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari does not make provision for a telecoms tax as a resource of funding in the regulation.
In a statement signed by the Community Affairs Manager of the NHIA, Emmanuel Ononokpono, it reported the Act establishes and empowers the NHIA to be certain the provision of health and fitness insurance coverage for all Nigerians via a mandatory system, in collaboration with state overall health insurance policies businesses.
Even though clarifying the provisions of the new legislation, the company said: “In relation to the Act, the NHIA wishes to state plainly that the legislation that Mr. President assented to does not make provision for a telecoms tax as a source of funding in the regulation contrary to hasty reports in some exuberant national media.”
The NHIA said with the coming into impact of the new Wellbeing Coverage Act, the objective of addressing substantial incidence of out-of-pocket expenses for well being treatment, as a result of wellbeing insurance for all groups of Nigerians by 2030, would now be more realisable than at any time prior to.
The statement additional: “It worthy to note that the Act establishes and empowers the NHIA to be certain provision of health insurance plan for all Nigerians by means of a obligatory mechanism, in collaboration with point out health and fitness insurance policy companies.
“Specifically, Sections 25 and 26 of the Act create the Vulnerable Group Fund (VGF), indicating the various resources from which funding would be drawn.
“Furthermore, the laws strengthens the NHIA to discharge a vast assortment of regulatory and marketing functions to eventually assure that each Nigerian receives entry to excellent and reasonably priced well being treatment.
“While the NHIA understands the exhilaration around the new legislation, it craves the patience of stakeholders and field watchers which include the media to wait for a official unveiling of the document in days in advance.”
