Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT) has warned health maintenance organisations (HMOs) under the FCT health insurance scheme (FHIS) to ensure prompt remittance of payments to healthcare providers or face sanctions.
Wike, in a statement issued by Lere Olayinka, his senior special assistant on public communications and social media, said caution follows growing complaints from healthcare providers over non-remittance of funds by some HMOs.
According to him, some HMOs attributed their failure to process payments to the absence of banking details from hospitals—an excuse the FCTA dismissed as unacceptable.
“The compliance of the HMOs to the prompt remittance of payments to healthcare providers, as well as commitment of the healthcare providers to the discharge of their duties to the FHIS enrollees will be monitored, with a view to sanctioning defaulters appropriately,” the statement reads.
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The FHIS is a social health insurance programme designed to provide financial protection and access to quality, affordable, and equitable healthcare for residents of the FCT.
Under the scheme, FCTA and area council staff, as well as vulnerable groups such as pregnant women and children, are enrolled at no cost. Other residents can join by paying an annual premium of N22,500.
To improve service delivery under the scheme, the FCT minister approved the payment of nearly N4 billion in outstanding capitation and fee-for-service obligations covering the period from 2022 to 2024.
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The minister said the FHIS benefits package includes the basic minimum package of health services (BMPHS), offering promotive, preventive, curative, and some rehabilitative care.
He noted that the administration had improved the timeliness of payments to HMOs and increased capitation to healthcare providers to boost service delivery.
“On implementation of the FHIS in the last one year, there have been payment of all outstanding capitations and fee for service backdated to year 2022 by the end of 2024, improved timeliness in the payment of capitation to HMOs, review and increment of the capitation to healthcare providers for improved service delivery to enrollees, free enrolment of vulnerable persons especially pregnant women and under-five, poor and indigents,” the statement reads.
Wike added that all pregnant women enrolled through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) at primary healthcare centres across the FCT’s six area councils will continue to receive free health education, medical consultations, routine antenatal medications, laboratory investigations, and delivery services.
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“Referral for secondary care including caesarean section, blood transfusion, and treatment of other obstetric complications such as eclampsia, at all the 14 general hospitals in the FCT is also provided at no cost to the patient through the BHCPF,” the statement added.
