The provision for Nigerians to pay a telecommunication tax of not less than one kobo per second of GSM calls to fund healthcare for vulnerable persons has been removed from the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Bill 2021, recently signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari.
In an earlier version of the bill, Section 26(1c) listed sources of money for the Vulnerable Group Fund to include “telecommunications tax, not less than one kobo per second of GSM calls”.
The law defines the vulnerable group as children under five, pregnant women, the aged, physically and mentally challenged persons, and the indigent “as may be defined from time to time”.
It also specified that the money from the vulnerable group fund shall be expended to provide subsidy for health insurance coverage of vulnerable persons as determined by the council; and for the payment of health insurance premiums for the indigent.
Other sources of funding are: basic health care provision fund to the authority; health insurance levy; money that may be allocated to the Vulnerable Group Fund by the government; money that accrues to the Vulnerable Group Fund from investments made by the council: and grants, donations, gifts, and any other voluntary contributions made to the Vulnerable Group Fund.
However, in the version of the bill signed by the president, the telecommunications tax was expunged, leaving basic health care provision fund, health insurance levy, special intervention fund, as well as any investment proceeds, donations, and gifts to the authority, as sources of funding to cover the large number of vulnerable individuals who are not able to pay health insurance premiums.
The National Health Insurance Authority Act further mandated all persons resident in Nigeria to obtain health insurance.
