The Executive Secretary of National Health Insurance Scheme, Prof. Usman Yusuf, has reiterated his commitment to deliver optimal health service to all Nigerians.
Yusuf said this during the NHIS management retreat in Kaduna with the theme: “Repositioning Insurance Scheme towards achieving Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria.”
He mentioned that the meeting was geared towards consensus building and support among stakeholders towards repositioning the scheme for effective service delivery.
He said the aim of the retreat was to reposition the institution to deliver health care to all Nigerians, especially to the poor and vulnerable in the society.
Yusuf said the scheme had a goal to reach the pregnant women, children under five, the disabled, unemployed and the internally displaced persons.
According to him, his mandate from the presidency is to make the scheme work for all Nigerians.
Yusuf said: “I have the law behind me, the financial muscle of the institution and the goodwill of the presidency to make things work.
“My mandate as the Executive Secretary is to be good custodian of people’s health by cleansing the institution and making it work for everybody.
“I also have the responsibility to produce an institution that all Nigerians can be proud of.”
Yusuf further decried the irregularities operated among the HMOs and ill-treatment enrollee’s encountered in receiving service at the hospitals, saying that the institution had not done well in the past.
He said the Health Maintenance Organizations and health service providers did not care for the enrollees, adding that enrollees needed to be treated better.
He added: “This institution has paid so much money to the HMOs from 2005 till date and there is nothing to show for it.