The National Health Insurance Authority has refunded more than N14.2 million to enrollees following complaints about healthcare services, while nine healthcare facilities have been suspended for alleged breaches of service standards.
The NHIA also disclosed that it had resolved 3,878 complaints and issued 368 warning letters to healthcare providers over various service-related concerns.
The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the authority, Dr Kelechi Ohiri, disclosed this in Abuja during the inaugural Civil Society Organisation-Led Mid-Year Review of Nigeria’s National Health Sector Reforms.
Ohiri said the measures were part of efforts to strengthen patient protection and ensure that health insurance coverage translated into accessible and quality healthcare.
According to him, “NHIA has strengthened patient protection, resolving 3,878 complaints and refunding more than N14.2m to affected enrollees. It has also issued 368 warning letters and suspended nine healthcare facilities.”
The authority said it had also deployed inspection teams to healthcare facilities to monitor compliance with its one-hour treatment authorisation policy and other requirements relating to patient protection and quality of care.
The enforcement measures come amid an increase in national health insurance enrolment, which the NHIA said had risen from about 16 million at the beginning of the current administration to more than 23 million.
The authority added that more than 2.7 million poor and vulnerable Nigerians had benefited from support provided through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund.
Ohiri said the focus was shifting from simply expanding insurance coverage to ensuring that enrollees could obtain reliable healthcare and protection from financial hardship.
He said, “We have moved from policy and legislation to measurable implementation. The next task is to move from coverage to reliable access, from reliable access to better health outcomes, and from insurance membership to genuine financial protection.”
The NHIA further reported a 93 per cent increase in capitation and a 378 per cent rise in fee-for-service reimbursements, while more than 7,500 healthcare facilities had undergone digital assessment under the SafeCare quality framework.
In cancer care, the authority said it had entered into a cost-sharing arrangement with pharmaceutical company Roche to support selected oncology medicines, with Roche covering 50 per cent of the cost, NHIA 30 per cent and patients contributing 20 per cent.
It added that eligible radiotherapy patients could receive financial assistance ranging from N400,000 to full coverage, alongside support for services including mammography, CT and MRI scans, bone scans and diagnostic tests.
The NHIA also said more than 51,000 people had been covered under its HIV and tuberculosis programme across Anambra, Ebonyi, Gombe and Kwara states as of September 3, 2026.
However, Ohiri acknowledged that despite the progress, millions of Nigerians remained outside the health insurance system.
He said, “We have made substantial progress, but we are not where we need to be. Over 23 million Nigerians covered is significant, but it also tells us that there are many more Nigerians who are still outside the system.”
