Cost of wound dressing: Implication for enrollment into the National Health Insurance scheme, Nigeria

Background Enrollment into the National Health Insurance scheme (NHIS) still poses a challenge in Nigeria despite the established Group, Individual and Family Social Health Insurance Programme (GIFSHIP) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Objectives This study examined the direct cost of wound dressing and enrollment into the health insurance scheme among hospitalised patients. Method A descriptive cross-sectional research design was utilised to investigate the cost of wound dressing and enrollment into health insurance scheme among hospitalised patients in three selected hospitals of South-West Nigeria. The study was conducted from March 2021 to June 2021, and 190 patients were recruited via an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Ethical approvals were obtained from the hospitals while COVID-19 preventive protocols and ethical principles of autonomy, confidentiality and non-maleficence were observed. Results Majority of the respondents (91%) were not on any healthcare insurance scheme, only 4.2% were enrolled in NHIS while over 70% could not personally pay for their wound dressing. The minimum average cost of wound dressing materials per week and per acute care episode was ₦10 000.00 (Nigerian naira) and ₦50 000.00, respectively, while the minimum average cost for hospitalisation per week and per acute care episode was ₦18 000.00 and ₦130 000.00, respectively, ($1.00 equaled ₦600.00, June 2022). Conclusion A lack of health insurance coverage is a precursor of 'out of pocket' payment. A political will is required to scale up enrollment of the indigenous population into the NHIS in Nigeria. Contribution Many hospitalised patients are not enrolled in the NHIS and they are at a higher risk of catastrophic healthcare expenditure.