Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has said every Nigerian is now legally entitled to compulsory health insurance under the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Act of 2022.

In a statement made available to newsmen today,October 3,2025, Falana explained that the NHIA Act repealed and replaced the National Health Insurance Scheme Act of 2004, which he said had failed to achieve significant population coverage or integration of Nigeria’s fragmented health insurance system.

According to him, the 2022 law represents a major policy and legal shift toward making universal health coverage a legal and operational reality for all Nigerians.

He noted that the Act mandates the enforcement of a Basic Minimum Package of Care for all citizens, while also establishing the Vulnerable Group Fund to subsidise care for the poor, elderly, children under five, and persons living with physical or mental disabilities.

Falana added that state governments are required to operate their own health insurance schemes or engage third-party administrators until such schemes are established.