House Moves to Legislate Against Public Officials Seeking Medical Treatment Abroad
The House of Representatives at its plenary session on Wednesday, February 14, 2018 passed for Second Reading, a Bill seeking to prohibit public officials from seeking medical treatment abroad, at the expense of the government. While canvassing for support to the speedy passage of the Bill, the sponsor, Hon. Sergius Ogun stated that one of the general principles of the Bill is to put an end to revenue loss from the public treasury due to the overwhelming number of public staff who have now made medical tourism a norm.
He said the Bill seeks to amend the National Health Act, 2014 and to include in the Act that any public official who could on his or her own, afford foreign medical treatment should only do so at their expense, thus of no cost at all to the government. “I want to make it clear that it does not prevent anybody that has (his or her) money from getting treatment abroad, he emphasized.
The lawmaker decried the poor state of health facilities in the country and appealed to the House to take action and reverse the ugly trend in the best interest of the citizenry, especially those who cannot afford the luxury of Medicare abroad. He added that supporting the passage of the bill would eventually expedite the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in relation to health through the establishment of strong health institutions and vigilant regulatory authorities.
Several members who lent their support for the Act to be amended, said it would strengthen the country’s Institutions further. The Bill was read the second time following a majority voice vote when the question was put by the Speaker.