Health
NHFRA Bill will drive private hospitals to extinction, say healthcare providers
Healthcare providers across Nigeria have urged the National Assembly to withdraw the proposed National Health Facility Regulatory Agency Bill, warning that it would increase healthcare costs, duplicate the functions of existing regulatory bodies and force many private hospitals to shut down.
The healthcare providers under the aegis of the Healthcare Providers’ Association of Nigeria vehemently rejected the NHFRA Bill, insisting that it is not in the interest of patients and warning that it will worsen the japa syndrome, further depleting Nigeria’s already fragile health workforce.
HCPAN members, including past and present leaders, said that the proponents of the bill were seeking to drive private healthcare providers out of business and vowed to do everything democratically possible to stop the National Assembly from passing it.
They also argued that the bill is primarily designed to generate revenue for the government at the expense of patients and Nigerians, who are already burdened by catastrophic out-of-pocket healthcare spending amid rising poverty.
The private healthcare practitioners made their position known during a press briefing in Lagos, reiterating that their opposition is not to regulation itself but to the unnecessary duplication of statutory responsibilities.
HCPAN is the national umbrella association representing private healthcare providers across Nigeria.
The proposed NHFRA Bill, 2025, is sponsored by Sen. Samaila Kaila, who represents Bauchi North Senatorial District in the Senate.
The proposed agency seeks to set national care standards, accredit medical facilities and monitor compliance across public and private health institutions to ensure patient safety and quality care—functions HCPAN members said are already being performed by existing regulatory bodies.
Addressing journalists, HCPAN National President, Dr Austine Aipoh, urged the National Assembly to reject the bill and instead strengthen existing regulatory institutions.
Besides duplicating the functions of existing regulatory bodies, Aipoh said the proposed agency would worsen inter-professional conflicts in the already fragile health sector.
He noted that, if established, the agency would make healthcare service delivery more expensive.
“It will encourage japa. It will lead to the closure of private health facilities due to multiple taxation and high operational costs. It will make the environment unattractive for private medical practice,” the HCPAN president said.
He urged lawmakers not to consider the bill but instead focus on adequately funding the ailing health sector and strengthening the enforcement of existing laws rather than creating overlapping legislation.
He said, “After a comprehensive review of the proposed National Health Facility Regulatory Agency of Nigeria Bill, HCPAN respectfully submits that the establishment of the proposed agency is not the appropriate solution to achieving these objectives.
“Our position is not based on opposition to regulation. Rather, it is founded on the need for efficient regulation without unnecessary duplication of statutory responsibilities.”
Aipoh said HCPAN remained committed to working with the National Assembly, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, state governments and other relevant stakeholders to develop an efficient, coordinated and sustainable healthcare regulatory framework that serves the best interests of Nigerians.
PUNCH Healthwise reports that several health associations have opposed the NHFRA Bill, arguing that creating a new agency would duplicate existing functions and fuel disharmony among health professionals.
The HCPAN president identified the duplication of the functions of existing federal and state regulatory agencies, as well as overlapping inspection, licensing and accreditation processes, as major concerns about the proposed bill.
He also cited increased regulatory and compliance costs for healthcare providers, higher healthcare costs for patients, conflicts between federal and state regulatory responsibilities, and the expansion of bureaucracy without clear evidence of improved patient outcomes.
According to him, the proposed NHFRA Bill empowers the agency to inspect, accredit, certify, monitor, investigate, sanction and enforce compliance across virtually all categories of health facilities.
Aipoh stressed that these functions substantially overlap with responsibilities already assigned under existing legislation.
He reiterated that the proposed agency would duplicate functions already performed by regulatory bodies such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, state ministries of health and state hospitals management boards.
Past HCPAN President, Dr Jimmy Arigbabuwo, also rejected the bill, warning that it would drive private hospitals to extinction.
Arigbabuwo disclosed that the NHFRA Bill is targeted at private healthcare providers and would further worsen the already unconducive operating environment for private hospitals.
According to the Society for Family Health, at least 70 per cent of Nigerians receive healthcare and related services from the private sector.
Members of the Association of Nigerian Private Medical Practitioners, Lagos State chapter, in 2025 raised the alarm over the rising cost of electricity and fuel, lamenting that energy expenses alone consume about 40 per cent of their operational costs.
Arigbabuwo told journalists that healthcare providers were not afraid of regulation or opposed to it but were against the proposed bill because it would inflict more hardship on patients without improving the country’s health indices.
“We are only after the patients we are supposed to attend to.
“This bill is about to regulate us into extinction. There is a bill that will regulate you to survive; this one is to regulate you into extinction. From current research, we are aware that people are selling their health facilities and converting them into hospitality businesses and hotels”, he said.
The healthcare leader further noted, “Besides that, this is a bill that is meant primarily to generate funds for the government.
“The patients will bear the brunt, and more nurses and doctors will be attacked by patients because of rising medical bills. We don’t have a providers’ charter. It will further worsen brain drain.”
Also speaking, former National President of ANPMP, Dr Kayode Adesola, said he had consistently opposed the establishment of the agency from the beginning, even before the bill was introduced in the National Assembly.
“Whatever regulations they are making are targeted at private hospitals. From the beginning, we have warned and fought against this bill because it is not in the interest of patients. It will worsen the challenges faced by private hospitals and increase the cost of healthcare.
“We cannot allow some people to force this bill down our throats. The bill is not good enough.
“Let us all, as private healthcare providers, remain united. If we are united, it will be difficult to pass the bill. If we are united, no National Assembly will force it down our throats,” Adesola said.
He urged private healthcare providers across the country to speak with one voice and ensure the bill does not see the light of day for the sake of poor Nigerians who can barely afford healthcare.
Also, Chairman of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, Lagos State Chapter, Tolulope Ajayi, said that rather than establish a parallel regulatory agency, the National Assembly should assess existing regulatory institutions and address the funding gaps and manpower shortages confronting them.
“The major problems are poor funding, inadequate manpower and weak digital systems. Address these issues, and the effectiveness of regulation will improve. Creating another agency will only complicate the system and waste scarce resources,” Ajayi said.
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