By Inu Okorie

National Health Insurance Authority NHIA has refunded more than N14.2 million to enrollees and suspended nine healthcare facilities over complaints about services provided under the country’s health insurance system.
The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the NHIA, Dr Kelechi Ohiri, disclosed this in Abuja during the inaugural Civil Society Organisation-Led Mid-Year Review of Nigeria’s National Health Sector Reforms.
According to a statement issued by the authority on Sunday, the NHIA had resolved 3,878 complaints from enrollees, issued 368 warning letters to healthcare providers and suspended nine facilities following investigations into reported service failures.
The authority further reported a 22 per cent decline in case fatalities at participating maternal health facilities, from 1,042 recorded in the 2024 baseline to 810 as of August 2026. Despite the expansion of health insurance coverage and the reforms introduced, Ohiri acknowledged that a large proportion of Nigerians remained outside the system.
“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,” he said.
I can also turn this into a shorter Punch/Guardian-style report with a sharper headline and stronger news lead if you want.
“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 statement said.
The authority said inspection teams had also been deployed to healthcare facilities to monitor compliance with its one-hour treatment authorisation policy, as well as other patient-protection and quality-of-care requirements.
The enforcement measures come amid a rise in national health insurance enrolment, which has increased from about 16 million at the beginning of the current administration to more than 23 million.
The NHIA also said more than 2.7 million poor and vulnerable Nigerians had received healthcare support through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund.
Ohiri said the authority was moving beyond policy formulation and legislation to ensure that health insurance coverage translated into access to healthcare and financial protection for Nigerians.
“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,” he said.
The NHIA said recent reforms had led to a 93 per cent increase in capitation and a 378 per cent rise in fee-for-service reimbursements. It added that more than 7,500 healthcare facilities had undergone digital assessment under the SafeCare quality framework.
Cancer care support
The authority also announced expanded support for cancer patients through a cost-sharing arrangement with pharmaceutical company Roche for selected oncology medicines.
Under the arrangement, Roche covers 50 per cent of the cost, the NHIA pays 30 per cent, while patients contribute the remaining 20 per cent.
Eligible radiotherapy patients can also receive financial assistance ranging from N400,000 to full coverage. Other supported cancer services include mammography, CT and MRI scans, bone scans, diagnostic tests and radiotherapy.
“For us, coverage has to mean something when people become ill. Cancer is one of the clearest examples of why health insurance matters,” Ohiri said.
The NHIA said more than 51,000 people had been covered under its HIV and tuberculosis programme in Anambra, Ebonyi, Gombe and Kwara states as of September 3, 2026.
The beneficiaries include more than 38,000 people living with HIV, over 7,400 patients with drug-sensitive tuberculosis and 594 patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis.
The authority has also commenced the accreditation of more than 2,000 healthcare facilities ahead of a planned nationwide expansion of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis coverage in 2027.
In maternal and newborn healthcare, the NHIA said its interventions had reached more than 93,000 women and newborns. The figure includes 79,221 women, 7,500 newborns and 6,044 women treated for fistula.