Redcare HMO to grow market share in health insurance market

As out-of- pocket payment for healthcare constituting over 90 percent of private spending and less than 5 percent (about 8million) of Nigerians covered by health insurance in public and private sector, this development has left majority of Nigeria’s 160 million people without health insurance cover.

While this has created huge market for Health Maintenance Organisation (HMOs) to design health insurance products, Redcare HMO intends to grow its market share in Nigeria’s health insurance shape through product development targeted at the formal and informal sectors including individual enrollees in a bid to ensure that more Nigerians are covered by health insurance

Speaking with BusinessDay during the company’s 5th year anniversary, Babatunde Salako, managing director/chief executive officer, Redcare HMO, said the philosophy of the company is to develop customised healthcare packages that would address the needs of a targeted segment of the society.

With share capital of over N400 million  and operating in the six geopolitical zones of the country, Salako revealed that RedCare HMO is focused on ensuring Nigerians have access to healthcare services through collaboration with relevant stakeholders and providing massive scale-up of health insurance to Nigerians in line with National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIIS) 2015 target.

“Distinguished business leaders have made it possible for Redcare HMO to be an established force in the healthcare management business in Nigeria. Their combined years of experience and leadership have help steer the company to achieving 120 companies as corporate clients in one and half years with major clientele include the banks, oil & gas companies, telecommunications, Insurance, multinationals companies etc, community health insurance in Ogun State, BUPA International local representative and a nationwide presence with regional offices

 “Our health insurance cover for corporate organizations is growing as well as new enrolees from companies such as Access bank, Etisalat etc.  We are well positioned to partner with local and international bodies including the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) for the provision of universal health coverage for all under the government agenda for healthcare in the country. We are positioned to continue to increase our market share both in terms of corporate clients and individual enrolees. We are continuously reviewing our products/plans to maintain our competitive advantage and leveraging our services on the reputation of Reddington Hospital, our flagship hospital in Nigeria,” Salaok explained. 

Olu Akinyanju, chairman, National Sickle Cell Foundation, who chaired the occasion, stated that RedCare HMO is committed to pursuing excellence in healthcare service delivery and pioneering the use of technology for health care management in Nigeria.

He added that due to RedCare HMO’s experience, it has been able to customize bespoke health insurance products to different groups (corporate, SME and retail).

The health insurance business has witnessed a boom in the country for over a decade (from 13 in 2000 to 66 HMOs in 2012),  becoming more sophisticated with monthly capitation payment processed manually by HMOs put at over N5 billion among over 6, 000 accredited providers.

While the NHIS was re-launched in 2005 with the aim of improving accessibility and equity in healthcare delivery, the scheme has suffered a long lag between conceptions and implementation due partly to the opposition by healthcare professionals, administrators and even the general public owing to misconception and inadequate knowledge of the principle of health insurance.

The continued dominance of out-of-pocket payment for healthcare is Nigeria experts believe is borne out of misconception and lack of information on health insurance. Why health insurance is still a new business and people do not understand actuarial principle and insurance, this has lead to low acceptance of health insurance, which is considered the future of healthcare in Nigeria.

While calls for government to reduce the burden of healthcare services on citizens continues, the quest to attain universal health coverage for Nigerians may not become realised if the current NHIS Act established under Act 35 of 1999 by the Federal Government to make health insurance compulsory is not enacted.

Stakeholders believe that constitutional amendment would compel states and local governments to pay subsidy and bridge existing funding gaps that would ensure and enable more Nigerians access quality healthcare under the NHIS.

ALEXANDER CHIEJINA