Lagos State has given residents until December 31, 2026, to secure health insurance, with mandatory compliance checks scheduled to start on January 1, 2027, as the government moves to reduce the financial burden of medical care on households.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced the timetable on Tuesday at the launch of enforcement measures for compulsory health insurance under Executive Order EO/BOS/01 of 2024. The state also unveiled Lagos Private Health Plans, a new insurance option aimed at salaried workers and corporate employers.
The private plans are intended to operate alongside Ilera Eko, the existing state-backed scheme focused on low-income and vulnerable people as well as workers in the informal economy. Residents have until the end of 2026 to obtain cover before enforcement begins at the start of 2027.
Addressing government representatives, healthcare practitioners and private- and public-sector participants at an event in Victoria Island, Sanwo-Olu said the policy was meant to give Lagos residents access to reliable medical treatment without exposing them to severe financial strain.
He said the executive order was not simply a compliance mechanism. Its broader purpose, he said, is universal insurance coverage that allows residents to receive quality care without being pushed into hardship by healthcare costs.
The governor said the social health insurance framework places duties on individuals, employers, employees and the state government. While Ilera Eko remains targeted at informal workers and vulnerable groups, the private plans have been structured for companies and people in formal employment.
Sanwo-Olu urged businesses to regard employee healthcare as a core employment cost, comparable with pension payments and other legally required staff benefits.
He also said hospitals and other healthcare providers must provide immediate treatment in emergencies regardless of whether a patient has cash or an insurance policy. Patients should be stabilised before questions of payment or insurance eligibility are addressed, he said.
Twenty-one health maintenance organisations have signed up for the new plans, in what the governor described as a public-private effort to broaden insurance participation and improve healthcare provision across Lagos.
Sanwo-Olu appealed to healthcare professionals considering emigration to remain in Nigeria, arguing that stronger funding for the sector could build a more viable and lasting working environment for medical practitioners.
Lagos State Commissioner for Health Prof. Akin Abayomi said medical bills have risen in part because of rapid technological advances, including artificial intelligence, robotics and modern diagnostic tools. He said a broad-based and financially durable insurance system was needed to protect residents from mounting costs while preserving access to high-quality treatment.
Abayomi described the programme as an important shift in the way healthcare is financed. Dependence on direct out-of-pocket spending, he said, has imposed major pressure on both families and medical facilities.
Earlier, Dr. Adebayo Adedewe, chairman of the Lagos State Health Management Agency, said the government had increased its Health Equity Fund to N3bn from N1bn. The additional funding is intended to provide insurance for more than 500,000 vulnerable residents who cannot afford premium payments.
Adedewe said LASHMA would keep expanding enrolment, strengthening public education and working to ensure that the policy results in practical access to health services throughout the state. The agency has widened its grassroots outreach through radio programming, billboard advertising, digital campaigns and cooperation with traditional leaders, market groups, transport unions and other community organisations.
