HMO launches health insurance with GIFSHIP

By Doris Obinna

Ultimate Health HMO has launched Group, Individual, and Family Social Health Insurance Programme (GIFSHIP), to make quality healthcare accessible, affordable, and equitable for all Nigerians.

The launch comes in the wake of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Act 2022, which mandates enrollment for all employers and employees in both the organized private sector and the informal economy. Speakers at the event highlighted that the previous NHIS Act of 1999 limited uptake due to its voluntary language and a fragmented operational framework, which left many private employers unaware of their statutory responsibilities.

Officials traced longstanding challenges to the early days of private health insurance in the late 1990s, when HMOs primarily marketed family plans with variable benefits, resulting in inconsistent service delivery and disputes over premiums and capitation. Speaking, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Otunba Lekan Ewenla, disclosed that the sector lacked standardized operations, regulatory oversight, and clear actuarial guidance, which hampered uptake and service quality.

“The new GIFSHIP product, priced at N38,718 per person per year, seeks to address these gaps by offering a clear, contributory benefit package regulated by the NHIA. The plan covers individuals, families, and groups while separating individual enrollment from the traditional family plan model that previously constrained service delivery. By standardizing premiums and operational processes, GIFSHIP aims to reduce disputes between healthcare providers and HMOs while ensuring quality care across all levels of service.

While emphasising the importance of volume-driven health risk management, comparing patient enrollment to airline capacity, to underscore the need for sufficient scale for sustainability, he encouraged private employers to convert existing medical allowances into health insurance contributions and urged informal sector participants to leverage associations and mobile enrollment platforms.

The organisation also announced that it had become the first HMO to submit actuarially developed complementary and supplementary benefit packages for NHIA approval and coding, reflecting its commitment to offering tailored services for top executives while simultaneously focusing on mass-market access through GIFSHIP.

“The NHIA Act 2022 provides the regulatory backbone to ensure that all Nigerians have access to essential healthcare. It is time to shift from assumptions to the law, and from treating illness to creating health. A healthy nation is a wealthy nation.”

Ewenla reiterated that with hundreds of thousands of public sector enrollees and a growing number of corporate clients across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, the organisation positions GIFSHIP as a transformative tool for bridging the country’s healthcare gaps, improving service quality, and promoting social and economic resilience.

The organisation urged citizens to take proactive steps toward enrollment, emphasizing that compliance with the NHIA Act is not just a legal obligation but also a vital step toward ensuring financial protection against medical emergencies.

It reinforced the government’s commitment to universal health coverage, noting that GIFSHIP represents a scalable, sustainable solution for millions of Nigerians. Stakeholders called on all sectors of society to embrace the initiative, stressing that widespread adoption is essential to achieving a healthier, more productive nation.