One of the aims of establishing the national health insurance programme in Nigeria is to reduce health care expenditure induced poverty, a financial situation that is caused by high catastrophic health expenditure by households. Meanwhile, studies that examine the protection of enrollees on the national health insurance programme in Nigeria against catastrophic health expenditure are scarce. This study, for that purpose, examined if enrolment on the national health insurance programme provided protection against catastrophic health expenditure. Cross sectional research design was adopted in the study as primary data was collected through the instrumentality of a structured questionnaire from enrollees and non-enrollees working in the federal and state government establishments in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Fisher’s exact proportion test was used in analysing the data. The result indicated a significant reduction in incurring catastrophic health expenditure for enrollees on the national health insurance programme against the non-enrollees. It was concluded that enrolment on the national health insurance protects against catastrophic health expenditure. The establishment of social health insurance agencies by state governments in Nigeria to facilitate expansion of coverage to the economically vulnerable households was the key recommendation.
Written By
Uduakobong Inyang, Ph.D
Department of Insurance and Risk Management
University of Uyo, Nigeria
exnetmama@yahoo.com
uduakobongainyang@uniuyo.edu.ng
Queensley C. Chukwudum, Ph.D
Department of Insurance and Risk Management,
University of Uyo, Nigeria.
queensleyv@yahoo.com
Iboro E. Edet, Ph.D
Department of Human Anatomy,
University of Uyo, Nigeria.
iboroeedet@uniuyo.edu.ng
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