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… Reform Will Strengthen Insurance Access, Private Sector Participation – Sanwo-Olu

… LPHP Ends Distrust, Unhealthy Pricing, Opaque Insurance Operations – Abayomi

Lagos – Lagos State on Tuesday unveiled the Lagos Private Health Partnership (LPHP), a landmark reform in its health sector financing agenda. The initiative aims to restructure health funding, expand insurance coverage, and ensure equitable access to quality healthcare through a transparent public–private collaboration framework. The launch, held at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, drew top government officials, healthcare regulators, private insurers, development partners, and financial institutions who pledged collective commitment to sustainable health financing and universal health coverage.

Delivering the keynote address on behalf of the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Secretary to the State Government, Barrister Abimbola Salu-Hundeyin, described the LPHP as a historic step towards building a resilient and future-driven health financing architecture capable of protecting households from catastrophic expenditure. She noted that the initiative demonstrates Lagos’ seriousness in translating compulsory health insurance mandates into effective, scalable, and economically viable implementation.

According to the Governor, the LPHP emerged directly from Lagos’ domestication of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Act of 2022 through an Executive Order signed in July 2024, making health insurance mandatory for all residents and establishing enforcement mechanisms for compliance. He said the state set up a multi-stakeholder Technical Working Group whose recommendation led to the creation of operational guidelines and the LPHP to align private sector participation with policy direction, risk pooling, and digital accountability.

He added that the reform is expected to strengthen private health service delivery, responsible for over 70 percent of healthcare encounters in Lagos, while enabling insurers and providers to operate within a clearly defined framework that balances profitability, service standards, and equity. The Governor further announced that the state has adopted a population-based enrolment model for employees of private organisations to streamline risk distribution and subsidised plan access.

Prof. Akin Abayomi, State Commissioner for Health, in his opening remark, said the launch signals a decisive break from a decade-long fragmented and inefficient private health insurance marketplace characterised by unhealthy price undercutting, unpopular enrollee access restrictions, and loss of trust among stakeholders. He said the LPHP was purposely engineered to restore fairness, transparency, quality, and sustainability through a collaborative procurement platform.

Abayomi lamented that despite Lagos’ economic strength and a population exceeding 25 million, the state continues to suffer from inadequate health financing, low insurance penetration, workforce attrition, and increasing medical tourism. He stated that the LPHP is the government’s strongest tool yet for reversing the trend, improving health outcome indicators, and recalibrating patient confidence in domestic healthcare capacity.

He disclosed that the LPHP is underpinned by a robust digital marketplace where enrollment, provider selection, fund flow, claims management, monitoring, reporting, and evaluation will occur seamlessly with compliance footprints. Through the system, he said, competition will shift from price-driven rivalry to value-driven outcomes, standardised plans, and quality assurance enforced by HEFAMAA.

The Commissioner reiterated that full enforcement of mandatory health insurance will commence after a six-month sensitisation window, aligning with Mr. Governor’s directive to scale risk-pooling, cross-subsidisation, and financial protection. He emphasised that without widespread enrolment, Lagos cannot actualise a functional insurance ecosystem capable of delivering equitable, people-centred care.

In his technical presentation, Prof. Abayomi further outlined that LPHP will introduce a state-managed risk equalisation and solidarity fund, requiring private insurers to contribute 13 percent of premiums to protect vulnerable populations, strengthen emergency response, and sustain universal health coverage commitments. He projected that Lagos could inject over ₦400 billion annually into the healthcare financing system if 20 million residents enrol at an average premium of ₦20,000 yearly.

Dr. Adebayo Adedewe, Chairman, Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA), in a goodwill message, said LPHP is a credible solution to long-standing challenges in the health insurance space and commended government’s thorough stakeholder engagement and technical design process. He pledged agency alignment and described the launch as a “watershed moment” for the evolution of health financing in Lagos.

Dr. Jimi Arigbabuwo, National Adviser on Health Insurance Matters for the Healthcare Providers Association of Nigeria (HCPAN), described the launch as a turning point in the recognition and integration of private sector providers who deliver the majority of Nigeria’s healthcare services. He urged the government to prioritise fair compensation for providers to guarantee sustainability, patient satisfaction, and reduction in outbound medical tourism.

bubakar Suleiman, Managing Director/CEO of Sterling Bank Plc, Asaid the bank’s interest in healthcare aligns with its HEART (Health, Education, Agriculture, Renewable Energy, Transport) agenda, noting that healthcare financing remains unsustainably expensive without structural reform. He said Sterling Bank will continue to provide financial and digital infrastructure to support the LPHP’s long-term success.

He explained that Lagos has set a pioneering model for Africa by creating a unified marketplace where digital governance, transparency, payment system integration, and enrollee empowerment drive value-based healthcare delivery. Suleiman affirmed that the bank’s collaboration is not only financial but strategic, involving technology deployment for real-time accountability.

Stakeholders at the event agreed that the LPHP model represents one of the most comprehensive health financing reforms in Nigeria and will become a scalable template for national adoption. They emphasised that success will require ongoing multisector commitment, continuous public awareness, and rigorous policy enforcement.

With the launch, Lagos positions itself as Africa’s leading health financing reform hub and a candidate destination for medical investments, health technology, and clinical workforce retention. The Lagos State Ministry of Health stated that next steps include HMO onboarding, pilot implementation, system review, and full rollout across the state.

The event urged residents, private sector employers, civil society groups, insurers, and healthcare providers to commit collectively to the vision of ensuring affordable, digitised, dignified, and universal health access for every Lagos resident.