In 2018, the Association of Community Pharmacists of
Nigeria (ACPN) advocated for a wide range of reforms in the health insurance
for Nigerians in order to offer better and robust therapeutic outcomes for
consumers of health in the country.
Consequently, they faulted the implementation of the
National Health Insurance Scheme in the country, calling for reforms that would
usher a new partnership and could also bring about a new dimension towards
maximizing healthcare delivery in the interest of Nigerians.
In what is a revisit to that clarion call in 2018,
however, the National Executive Council (NEC) of the association, arising from
its two-day working visit of Ondo State, has reiterated its stand on the reform
of the National Health Insurance Scheme implementation.
In a press statement jointly signed by Dr. Samuel
Oluwaoromipin Adekola and Pharm. Abosede Idowu, the ACPN’s National President
and Secretary respectively, the National Executive Council of the association
welcomed the proposed bill to repeal the National Health Insurance Scheme Act
and also the proposed enactment of the National Health Insurance Commission
Bill, 2019.
It also vowed to make sure that any policies from
the National Health Insurance Scheme that could be obnoxious to effective
health insurance of Nigerians would be vehemently challenged in the law court,
even as the body of community pharmacists said that payment mechanism that had
been the Achilles heels of effective health insurance scheme should be made a
prohibition under the law.
“ACPN welcomed the proposed Bill for an ACT to
Repeal the National Health Insurance Scheme Act CAP N42, LFN 2004 and Enact the
National Health Insurance Commission Bill, 2019, but with a caveat that the
obnoxious “Global Capitation” payment mechanism that created so much disharmony
among providers and made the current NHIS scheme fail should be made a
prohibition under the new Bill.
It alleged; “ACPN frowned at and rejected in
totality the concept of ‘Health Insurance Under One Roof’ unveiled by the Executive
Secretary of NHIS Mohammed Sambo as it believes this is another way the scheme
is planning to put all providers in the pocket of one preferred provider and
ultimately denying enrollees of quality services.
“The concept runs contrary to Global Best Practice
that separates quality health care services delivery across the different
professionals that make up the healthcare team. ACPN resolved in line with the
mandate of its AGM to challenge in Court all unlawful policy directions of
NHIS.”
Meanwhile, the association, while on the working
visit to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, toured major infrastructure in Ondo State.
They had a Technical Session with the Nigerian Institute for Pharmaceutical
Research and Development (NIPRD).
As a body intent on ensuring quality and effective
pharmaceutical industry in the country, ACPN called on Governor Akeredolu to
urgently address the debt burden of state’s hospitals to pharmaceutical
companies, dating back to even the past administrations in the state.
They appraised the earlier statements of the
International Pharmaceutical Federation on the roles of pharmacists in
exploiting the medicinal application of cannabis and its derivatives.
