‘Nigerian HMOs are bankrupting hospitals and short changing their patients’ – Doctor laments.
A Nigerian doctor, Dr Olawale, has taken to his Twitter handle to narrate how Health Maintenace Offices in Nigeria popularly called HMOs have nearly bankrupted his private hospital due to chronic delay in payment for services rendered to the patients that have their health insurance registered under them. He went further to expose how these HMOs shortchange their patients by refusing to pay for the right drugs their clients actually needs.
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“My Hospital has gone through financially troubled times lately. And 90% of the problem is as a fact that HMOs have decided not to pay after we have rendered service. I am in no mood to drag anyone, but HMOs should stop delaying Healthcare providers after we render a service.
Some will owe you three months, six months, some one year, some TWO years. And they expect you to keep seeing their patients, the same patients who by the way are made to think they have paid us for the work and feel entitled. It’s not their fault because the HMOs have the money.
Most HMOs aren’t really helping the healthcare space rather they’re playing a big Ponzi Scheme on Healthcare Providers (HPs). They take from Corporate Organizations, refuse to pay HPs (or pay peanuts) and let the patient think the HPs have been paid. NHIS should look into this.
Let me give an example; you visit the Hospital and you need to be given IV Rocephin. IV Rocephin costs about 3.5k to 5k depending on where you buy it. But you know how much the HMO wants to pay the HPs for giving you Rocephin? 2k.
Who runs business at a loss?!
I’m really pained right now because I, as well as many of my staff (who I sincerely appreciate) have suffered so much delay in salaries. Morale is down, they’re resigning. I cannot blame them at all. Don’t even ask if I’ve even been paid. HMOs are really bad for HPs right now.
This is why people like me either prefer our patients to pay by themselves or Corporate Organizations work directly with us. Because we’re the ones doing the real job here. And if all fails we close shop and leave this country. But it’s quite unfortunate I’m not built that way.
Seeing any HMO patient costs REAL money. Money used to procure drugs, materials, workforce, logistics. And this is what they refuse to pay for, deny, or delay the payment. Tell me is this fair?
There’s only ONE HMO I know about and I have seen that pays TWO DAYS after you see their patients. The thread to tell them thank You will come next. If they can do it, others surely can.
It’s 2020. We should not be having these kinds of conversations. My hospital runs about 20+ HMO organizations and by God if they don’t improve in fulfilling their own end of the agreement, all h*ll may be let loose.
End of rant.
Thank you all for reading through.”
