Healthcare providers demand withdrawal of NHFRA Bill, warn of higher cost of care

By Chioma Obinna

Private healthcare providers in Nigeria have called on the National Assembly to immediately withdraw the proposed National Health Facility Regulatory Agency (NHFRA) Bill, warning that creating another federal healthcare regulator would drive up the cost of medical care, worsen bureaucracy and further strain an already fragile health system.

The Healthcare Providers’ Association of Nigeria (HCPAN), the umbrella body representing private hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centres, laboratories, pharmacies and other healthcare establishments, said the Bill, if passed in its current form, would impose additional regulatory burdens on healthcare providers, costs that would ultimately be transferred to patients.

Presenting the association’s position on the proposed legislation during a press briefing in Lagos, HCPAN President, Dr. Austine Aipoh, insisted that while the association supports stronger healthcare regulation and improved patient safety, Nigeria does not need another regulatory agency with overlapping responsibilities.

According to him, the country already has statutory institutions responsible for regulating healthcare facilities, including the Federal and State Ministries of Health, the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN), the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) and other professional regulatory bodies.

He argued that the proposed NHFRA would merely duplicate their functions, leading to multiple inspections, repeated accreditation exercises, overlapping licensing requirements and higher compliance costs for healthcare providers.

“Whatever burden a provider feels economically, who gets the brunt? It is the patient. We don’t create laws to bring conflict. We create laws to make life better for citizens. Creating another law that makes life more difficult for citizens is not the way to go.”

Aipoh maintained that the nation’s healthcare regulatory challenges stem from weak coordination, inadequate funding and poor enforcement of existing laws, not the absence of another regulator.
Rather than establishing a new agency, he urged lawmakers to strengthen existing regulatory institutions through better funding, improved staffing, digital regulatory systems and stronger collaboration among government agencies.

“We support better healthcare, better regulation, better governance, better patient safety and better health outcomes. But these objectives can be achieved more effectively by strengthening existing institutions rather than creating another federal regulatory agency with overlapping powers,” he said.

He also called for the establishment of a National Healthcare Regulatory Coordination Framework to harmonise inspections, eliminate duplication and improve information sharing among existing regulators.
Beyond increasing operational costs, Aipoh warned that the proposed legislation could create jurisdictional conflicts between federal and state authorities while expanding bureaucracy without any guarantee of improved patient outcomes.

He urged the National Assembly to withdraw the Bill and undertake broader consultations with stakeholders before considering any new healthcare regulatory framework.

Also speaking, Representative of the Association of Nigerian Private Medical Practitioners (ANPMP), Dr. Jonathan Esegine, said the proposed legislation failed to address the real problems confronting Nigeria’s health sector, particularly the worsening brain drain among healthcare professionals.

“The Bill has no purpose. It does not address the challenges facing the health sector. Our biggest challenge today is the mass migration of healthcare professionals, and this legislation will only compound the problem by creating additional layers of bureaucracy for those who remain,” he said.

Also, Chairman of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN), Lagos State Chapter, Pharm. Tolulope Ajayi, argued that government should focus on fixing existing regulatory institutions rather than creating another agency. “The major problems are poor funding, inadequate manpower and weak digital systems. Address these issues and the effectiveness of regulation will improve. Creating another agency will only complicate the system and waste scarce resources,” Ajayi said.

Former HCPAN President, Dr. Jimmy Arigbabuwo, warned that many private hospitals were already struggling under the country’s harsh economic climate and could be pushed to the brink by additional regulatory requirements.

“Healthcare providers are barely surviving. Many hospitals are being sold, leased or converted to other businesses because of the economic realities. This Bill will only over-regulate providers to extinction.” The association also recommended a comprehensive regulatory and fiscal impact assessment before any new healthcare regulatory institution is created, insisting that resources earmarked for a new agency would be better invested in strengthening existing regulators, improving inspection capacity and digitising regulatory processes.

The proposed National Health Facility Regulatory Agency Bill, sponsored by Senator Samaila Kaila, seeks to establish a central agency responsible for setting national healthcare standards, accrediting health facilities and monitoring compliance across both public and private healthcare institutions.

However, HCPAN maintained that the objectives of improving healthcare quality, patient safety and accountability could be achieved more efficiently through stronger coordination among existing regulatory bodies than by creating what it described as another costly layer of bureaucracy.