A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE SCHEME (NHIS) AND NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE AUTHORITY (NHIA) ON UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE (UHC) IN NIGERIA

Background: NHIS was established for the purpose of attaining Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Nigeria. However, the agency has less than 5% enrolment in 20 years. In effort towards bridging the above gap, NHIA was set up in 2022 as replacement for NHIS. Hence, the need to conduct a study to ascertain what makes NHIA different from NHIS. This is the gap that this paper intends to bridge. Objective: The objective of this paper is to examine the extent to which NHIA has guaranteed UHC in comparison with NHIS. Methods: The paper adopted a qualitative technique of data collection with the use of textual content analysis of documents obtained from concerned agencies. Results: The findings of the paper reveal that both NHIS and NHIA have not been able to guarantee UHC due to insufficient manpower, inadequate equipment, non-availability of essential drugs, lack of protection for vulnerable groups and poor service delivery. Conclusion: The study concludes that the inability of NHIA to make a noticeable different in its performance is due to lack of effective monitoring and regular enforcement of guidelines. Key Contributions to Knowledge: The study contributed to knowledge through a comparative analysis of the performance of NHIS and NHIA. Recommendations: The study recommends for proper supervision and regulation of health care service providers by NHIA in order to enforce compliance with relevant laws. Also, the challenges of poor funding, corruption, poor serviced delivery, protection of vulnerable groups, lack of sufficient drugs and facilities should be tracked by NHIA.