Aella partners Hygeia to include 95% Nigerians outside health insurance

Nigerian fintech firm, Aella has partnered with Hygeia HMO, a health insurance provider to include millions of Nigerians that have no access.

The partnership is giving birth to AellaCare, a health insurance product that offers a comprehensive and accessible micro-health insurance service to millions of people.

The continued spread of coronavirus in Nigeria and around the world has thrown Nigeria’s health system into the spotlight. It has for once shown how nearly broken the system and why there is an urgent need to fix it.

“The one thing I hope we realise with this crisis is how criminally underfunded our healthcare infrastructure is, both public and private,” said Akin Oyebode, special adviser to Ekiti State governor said in a tweet.

Among the problems plaguing the system are scarce public resources and limited health infrastructure which contribute to denying access to quality healthcare delivery to the country’s bottom of the pyramid.

About 95 percent of Nigerian adults do not have insurance and 77.2 percent of the nation’s population barely know what insurance is about. Traditional financial institutions with their brick and mortar set up have been unable to provide inclusive health insurance to the millions of people excluded by the system that places a priority on profitability.

Aella which recently secured a $10 million funding round, said the AellaCare has a goal to tackle the gap in health insurance with affordable coverage for as low as N2,000 ($5) per month.

Affordability will make it easier for people to seek and receive health services such as general consultation, pharmacy benefits, ante-natal care, and delivery services; accidents and emergencies; surgeries; outpatient and specialist consultations; HIV/AIDS Care and treatment; dental care; prescription glasses; family planning services among others.

“With AellaCare, we are not only reducing the financial barriers that prevent people from protecting their health with decent health insurance; we are also transforming the unbanked and supporting economic growth for all West Africans,” Akin Jones, CEO Aella said in a statement. “This milestone is another validation of our commitment to lifting many out of poverty and transition emerging markets into the digital economy through accessible financial solutions.”

Speaking on the partnership, Obinna Abajue, CEO of Hygeia HMO said access to quality and affordable care should never be seen as a luxury, hence the partnership with Aella. With the partnership, the HMO is able to scale the provision of healthcare services to millions of Nigerians and West Africans previously outside the healthcare system.

“With quality healthcare insurance coverage, AellaCare is giving people the convenience of providing preventive and primary care services for them and their loved ones, which reduces the financial risk of ill-health,” Abajue said. “All lives matter and AellaCare has made it easier to access healthcare through Aella’s fast, simple and affordable monthly subscription services.”