Healthcare Providers’ Association of Nigeria Rejects Proposed NHFRA Bill

The Healthcare Providers’ Association of Nigeria (HACPAN) has voiced strong opposition to the proposed National Health Facility Regulatory Agency (NHFRA) Bill, warning that its enactment would introduce significant bureaucratic hurdles and inflate healthcare expenses for ordinary citizens.

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While HACPAN strongly supports improved healthcare regulation, higher standards of patient safety, enhanced quality assurance and greater accountability. We respectfully oppose the establishment of the proposed agency in its entirety because it creates unnecessary duplication of existing regulatory structures.

During a press briefing in Lagos, HACPAN National President, Dr. Austine Aipoh, stated that while the association supports enhanced regulation and patient safety, the creation of a new federal agency is misguided. "We respectfully oppose the establishment of the proposed agency in its entirety because it creates unnecessary duplication of existing regulatory structures," Dr. Aipoh explained. He presented HACPAN’s memorandum at a Senate public hearing, questioning the bill's effectiveness in improving patient safety or realizing universal health coverage, deeming its impact on the healthcare system as "null, is zero."

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We have a lot of challenges facing us, so this bill has not made any difference. Has it made the patient safer? No. Has it made universal health coverage realizable? No. What it has done to the healthcare system is null, is zero, as far as HACPAN is concerned.

Dr. Aipoh highlighted Nigeria's already comprehensive regulatory framework, which includes the Federal Ministry of Health, State Ministries of Health, the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), and various professional councils. He cautioned that the NHFRA would impose additional layers of inspection, accreditation, certification, and fees on healthcare providers. This, he argued, risks increasing compliance costs without necessarily improving patient outcomes.

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If enacted, healthcare providers may be subjected to multiple inspections, multiple accreditations, multiple certifications, multiple regulatory fees, and overlapping enforcement actions.

HACPAN's primary concern is the bill's potential impact on patients. "Setting up a national regulatory agency will create loss of funds; it will create more money being charged by providers, and ultimately, the patients will not be able to afford it. The common man out there will bear the brunt," Dr. Aipoh stated. He also criticized a clause allowing the agency to use "franchisees" for inspections, interpreting it as a sign of the government's perceived lack of capacity. HACPAN is calling for the withdrawal of the bill and the strengthening of existing institutions.

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Setting up a national regulatory agency will create loss of funds; it will create more money being charged by providers, and ultimately, the patients will not be able to afford it. Whatever burden you feel economically, who bears the brunt? The common man out there will bear the brunt. Much more than even the man who owns a car.