The Group Individual and Family Social Health Insurance Programme of the National Health Insurance Scheme will leverage on the overarching e-NHIS framework which has been on the drawing board for more than a decade and which was recently approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
This was disclosed by the Executive Secretary of National Health Insurance Scheme, Prof. Mohammed Nasir Sambo in his welcome address at the Formal Launch of the Group Individual and Family Social Health Insurance Programme GIFSHIP at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja on Thursday November 26, 2020,
He said that GIFSHIP will enable individuals, families and groups to join the NHIS ecosystem while some of the appealing features of the programme include; the inbuilt mechanisms to guard against moral hazard, adverse selection as well as allowing room for organizations, political office holders, donor agencies, multinational corporations, philanthropists and people in Diaspora to contribute their quota towards the attainment of UHC.
He further said that the NHIS is undergoing massive reforms through the three Point Rebranding Agenda which is anchored on; restoring a value system that will transform NHIS into a credible result driven organization; engendering transparency and accountability in the entire operations of the Scheme, and accelerating the drive towards achieving universal access to quality healthcare for all Nigerians.
“Under these reforms, NHIS has now been become a fairly peaceful organization; most of the operational, financial and administrative bottlenecks are fast being resolved, with new innovative programmes being introduced. Notable among these reforms efforts include: strengthening the NHIS State Offices, recovery of NHist trapped funds, reforming the financial management system of the organization, restoring confidence of stakeholders, establishment of strategic infrastructural investment, automation of NHIS business processes and establishment of the concept of Health Insurance Under One Roof (HIUOR) as an enabling platform for coordination of all health insurance activities in Nigeria, Prof. Sambo said.
The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), in pursuance of its statutory mandate to provide financial access to quality healthcare for all Nigerians, and in consonance with the provisions of the third pillar of its ongoing Rebranding Agenda, which is to accelerate the attainment of Universal Health Coverage in the country developed a new programme known as Group, Individual and Family Social Health Insurance Programme (GIFSHIP).
The programme is designed to expand the space and provide coverage opportunity to Nigerians currently not covered under any health insurance programme in the country.
GIFSHIP is an omnibus with room for everyone, including Groups, Individuals, Families, Philanthropists, Religious and Community Leaders, Diasporans, Political Leaders, etc.
GIFSHIP is an improvement and expansion of the Vital Contributors Social Health Insurance Programme (VCSHIP).
