Health
Get health insurance to decongest public hospitals, Lagos tells residents
Angela Onwuzoo
The Lagos State Government has urged residents to embrace health insurance to reduce out-of-pocket healthcare spending, ease pressure on public hospitals and improve access to affordable care across the state.
The government said health insurance remained key to addressing bed-space shortages and decongesting public hospitals.
The state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, disclosed this in Alausa during an interactive session with journalists, stressing that Lagos was shifting residents away from out-of-pocket healthcare spending towards insurance-based financing.
Abayomi said Lagos public hospitals were subsidised, making them more affordable than private facilities.
He attributed the continued increase in patient numbers at public hospitals to their affordability, alongside the state’s growing population.
The commissioner said the rising patient numbers were putting additional pressure on healthcare workers, whose challenges had been compounded by the migration of health professionals.
Describing health insurance as a social safety net, Abayomi said every Lagos resident should insure their health, just as they insure their vehicles, and carry health insurance cards like identity cards to eliminate catastrophic out-of-pocket healthcare expenses.
The commissioner said Lagos became the first state to domesticate the National Health Insurance Authority Act 2022 through an executive order issued in July 2024, making health insurance mandatory.
He stressed that the decision reflected Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s commitment to reforming healthcare financing.
“30 million Lagosians need to move to health insurance. Every Lagosian must carry a health insurance card to end out-of-pocket spending. For N15,000, Lagosians can be on health insurance already subsidised by 90 per cent by the state government.
“We put aside one per cent of our consolidated fund given to the health ministry to cater for the vulnerable population through health insurance. 50 per cent of our population must have health insurance. You must carry a health insurance card like an ID card to protect yourself from out-of-pocket healthcare spending.
“The strategy in Lagos is for every resident to have a health insurance card like an ID. The government hospitals are subsidised. We have patient support funds used to foot the medical bills of indigents,” the commissioner said.
He raised concern that Nigerians spent N33tn on healthcare, lamenting that only two per cent of the population had health insurance.
“Nigerians spent N33tn on health, which is half of the Federal Government budget. This is a major issue. So Nigerians are spending money on health. 76 per cent of Nigerians pay for healthcare out of pocket. Only two per cent of Nigerians have health insurance.
“Health is not free; either the government pays, organisations pay, individuals pay, or health insurance pays. Health is not free; somebody must pay for it. We must change that 76 per cent to zero. We need to move that to health insurance.
“Abroad, you don’t see people pay out of pocket. If you can insure your car, why can’t you insure your health?” the commissioner said.
He added, “So everybody should have at least a social health insurance basic minimum service package cover. And then in the private sector, we’re incorporating them into that narrative so that if you have private insurance, you at least have the basic minimum package.”
Abayomi said Lagos has the strongest subnational health platforms in Africa, supported by a structured system of government institutions and healthcare facilities.
“It has a very strong financial strategy and a rapid response system and has lots of health laws. We are making new laws. We are not only concerned about government hospitals. In fact, we are more concerned with non-government hospitals because we are the Ministry of Health for Lagos and not the Ministry of Government Hospitals,” he added.
He said infrastructure remained a key priority of the administration, adding that the state had developed a medical blueprint focused on sustainable and renewable designs for health facilities.
“We are making sure that the health sector is robust enough to manage everything that comes its way,” Abayomi said.
Speaking on Lagos’s health ecosystem, the commissioner said the state has 350 public health facilities, about 3,500 private health facilities, and more than 10,000 community pharmacies and patent and proprietary medicine vendors operating in the informal sector.
He said the state government subsidies made care at public hospitals more affordable, as the government covered staff salaries, electricity and equipment costs. Consequently, services generally cost less than 50 per cent of private-sector charges.
“Lagos is home to approximately 30 million people, with a rapid annual population growth rate of six to eight per cent. This places significant demand on our health system, requiring smart, scalable and resilient solutions,” Abayomi said.
He stressed the need for the federal, state and local governments to pool resources and work together to develop a unified strategy.
The commissioner urged residents in the state to take advantage of the Ilera-Eko Health Insurance Scheme as part of ways to improve their overall well-being.
Earlier, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr Kemi Ogunyemi, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to delivering quality, accessible and affordable healthcare.
Ogunyemi said Lagos has more than 30 million residents, contributing to the growing number of patients seeking care at public hospitals.
She said the state government was working to address brain drain in the health sector.
The special adviser added that the Lagos State Ministry of Health listened to complaints from residents and followed up to ensure the issues raised were addressed.
“We have the destitute on our beds. Lagos hospitals are not the only hospitals witnessing long waiting times. We are working on it. We have improved our PHCs. We will continue to do our best to give quality care to Lagosians,” she said.
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