Top facts you should know about NHIS

What do you know about the National Health Insurance Scheme Nigeria? Are you aware of how you can register for NHIS? If not, you can find out how to register for NHIS in Nigeria in this article. We will tell you everything you need to know about NHIS Nigeria, NHIS registration and other relevant topics.

What is National Health Insurance Scheme?

National Health Insurance Scheme, or NHIS for short, is a corporate body that provides health insurance in Nigeria. It was established in 1999 by the Act 35 of the Constitution. Its main goal is to provide accessible healthcare to all Nigerians regardless of their social status or income.

NHIS aims to provide quality affordable healthcare by providing its participants with pre-paid plans. These payments are collected into a collective fund, which is then used to cover any expenses for medical services and supplies that participants might need.

NHIS covers such expenses as:

Outpatient care;
Prescribed medicine;
Maternity care;
Preventive care;
Consultations with medical specialists;
Hospital care;
Prosthetics;
Dental care and eye care.

If this sounds like something you might be interested in, you should consider the programmes that NHIS has to offer. Registration process will depend on the programme you choose.

What programmes can you register for?

NHIS offer a whole range of programmes that cater to different categories of population. All of the programmes are divided into three categories: formal sector, informal sector and vulnerable groups.

Let’s take a quick look at each of them:

Formal sector provides health insurance to companies and their employees, as well as to ordinary citizens. There are three sub-categories in this sector:

Formal Sector Social Health Insurance Programmes;
Vital (or Voluntary) Contributors Social Health Insurance Programmes;
National Mobile Health Insurance Programme.

The first one is mandatory for all Nigerian companies that employ more than 10 people, including civil service organisations and the private sector. The collective pool of contributions is filled by both employers and employees. The funds from it cover the medical expenses of the employees, their spouses and four children below 18.

The second one is voluntary for anyone, including legal residents, retirees and the companies that employ less than ten people. The collective pool is filled in the same way as the previous scheme. However, this one only covers the medical expenses of the insured person.

The third one is an option available for any Nigerian citizen with a mobile phone that is older than 18. It allows anyone to use their phone in order to enrol and pay for their health insurance.

Informal sector provides health insurance to higher educational institutions, communities and public private partnerships. This means health insurance for students, members of communities and partnerships. The collective pool is filled with payments from institutions and their members.

Vulnerable groups include pregnant women, children under the age of five, retirees, aged people and prisoners. The collective pool is filled by governments of all levels, civil society organisations and development partners.

Depending on the sector, the registration process and the contribution system are different. Therefore, we will consider each of them separately.

How to register for NHIS in Nigeria?

Let’s break down how you can enrol into each of the NHIS programs:

In the Formal Sector Social Health Insurance Programmes, employers register their employees. Therefore, you do not have to do anything. Every month, 5% of your salary will be deducted as your contribution, so that you and your family can use the benefits of health insurance.

What you can do, though, is register for NHIS online. To do that, go to nhisonline.com.ng and click Register. You will need to fill in your NHIS number, surname, and date of birth to register an online account. That way, you will be able to manage your account and see the information of your dependants.

If you want to enrol in the Vital (or Voluntary) Contributors Social Health Insurance Programme, you will need to either go to the local branch office or do it online at nhisonline.com.ng. However, if you want to do it online, you will need to visit any participating Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) to purchase a voucher required for online registration. With this voucher, you can go to the NHIS website and fill in the form to enrol in the programme.

If National Mobile Health Insurance Programme seems like the best option for you, simply dial *616# on your mobile phone. You will see a menu, where you will find all the information you need to register for this health insurance programme. You will be able to input all the required data, choose the HMO and the payment method. After successful registration, you will receive a text with your e-ID.

Those who fall under the jurisdiction of the programmes from the informal sectors can enrol at the local HMOs. There, they can fill the required papers and get more information about NHIS.

In case you or someone from your family belong to the one of the vulnerable groups, you can enrol at your local branch office or at the enrolment site in your community, if one exists.

That concludes our overview of NHIS programmes and how to enrol in each of them. We hope that our article has helped you find the right programme for you and enrol in it. Stay healthy and take care good of yourself and your loved ones!