In a major stride towards transforming healthcare delivery, SUNU Health Nigeria Limited, a prominent Health Maintenance Organisation (HMO), convened its second-quarter Providers’ Forum for the Lagos-Ogun region. At the event, the HMO firmly threw its weight behind the National Health Insurance Authority’s (NHIA) new one-hour authorization response time ultimatum.
The forum, themed “Improving Quality and Access to Care Through Stronger Provider Network,” was held at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) in Yaba, Lagos State. The event drew hundreds of healthcare providers who engaged in meaningful conversations with the SUNU Health team to ensure enrollees receive the best possible care whenever the need arises.
In her opening speech, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of SUNU Health, Dr. Faith Nwachi, who represented the MD/CEO, Dr Moyosore Olomola, restated the company’s commitment to operating within legal and operational frameworks to guarantee adequate care for enrollees, highlighting the forum as a vital mechanism for achieving this goal.
“Access to care and quality of care remain key priorities in our healthcare systems. We know quite well that deliberate collaboration, strategic partnerships, and a shared commitment to excellence are required to achieve these priorities. A strong provider network is doubtless the backbone of any effective healthcare system. It ensures that our mutual enrollees receive the right care, at the right time, in the right place, and at the right price,” Dr. Nwachi stated.
Dr. Nwachi added that SUNU Health would strictly adhere to the one-hour authorization approval limit. She emphasized that this aligns seamlessly with one of the organization’s core values—promptness and its corporate slogan, “Humanity is the centre of our initiatives.” In a bid to further improve access and quality of care, SUNU Health also demonstrated its new operational software and Mobile app, aptly named SUNU Legacy.
Also speaking at the event, Dr. Bethuel-Kasimu Abraham, the NHIA Lagos State Coordinator (Ikeja), noted that the forum’s expected outcome is to significantly reduce delays in accessing medical care. Other key expectations include ensuring continuity of care, improving patient outcomes, and strengthening accountability among HMOs.
Dr. Abraham reiterated that the NHIA introduced the one-hour authorization policy to ensure enrollees get prompt approval codes to access care. He warned that if a provider does not receive a response from an HMO within this timeframe, it should report to the NHIA by email with the HMO in copy, a timestamp attached as evidence of the request and then proceed to treat the enrollee.
Addressing specific pain points faced by enrollees, Mr. Dare Adefeso, the NHIA Ogun State Coordinator, acknowledged that the authority had received complaints regarding out-of-stock drugs and the discrimination of enrollees by certain providers. He affirmed that the NHIA is actively addressing these issues, stressing that moving forward, every facility must ensure enrollees are properly catered to regardless of their status, provided they have an active health insurance plan.
Corroborating the long-standing legacy of SUNU Health, Mrs. Aishat Tiamiyu, the Ogun State Director of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), shared that her agency is responsible for public information dissemination and has been enrolled with SUNU Health for over 25 years. Commending the HMO’s stellar service over two decades, she called for the immediate enrollment of new NOA staff into the scheme.
The Providers’ Forum remains one of the strategic channels employed by SUNU Health to consistently engage healthcare providers, understand their operational challenges, introduce new software updates, and solidify partnerships aimed at fostering premium healthcare delivery across Nigeria.
