The acronym ‘HMO’ stands for health maintenance organization, and that meaning almost comprehensively explains most of what you need to know about them. For the uninitiated, they’re companies that focus on providing healthcare services for clients through an insurance-like scheme.
Due to the structure of Nigeria’s healthcare system, HMOs tend to be more popular than regular health insurance companies, although they remain a subset of the latter. In short, your best bet at getting decent health coverage in Nigeria without spending absurd fees is buying an HMO subscription plan.
One question most Nigerians tend to ask when deciding what HMO to use is: what is the best HMO in Nigeria? This article will try to answer that question conclusively by explaining what HMOs do, how to choose an excellent one, and listing the 11 best HMOs in Nigeria.
Table of Contents
What is HMO?
You’ve learned a bit about health maintenance organizations (HMOs) in the introduction, but that’s not all you need to know about them before choosing one for yourself or your family. If you’re here, you already know HMOs partner with healthcare providers to provide healthcare services to clients, but that’s not all.
Most HMOs charges a monthly or annual premium to provide healthcare services to clients through a limited network of healthcare providers contracted to the company. For the opportunity to get referrals from the organization, practitioners within the network charge lower fees from the health maintenance organization for their services, allowing the clients to pay less and the company to turn profits.
HMOs typically have limited coverage areas since they have a limited number of doctors (and other health professionals) in their network. If you live outside the coverage area, you’ll be unable to subscribe to the HMO’s healthcare plan in the first place.
Most HMOs only cover a specific set of necessary healthcare procedures within the network; clients willing to get expensive cosmetic care may have to cover it out-of-pocket. Also, they won’t cover the costs of seeing a doctor outside their network unless it’s for emergency care.
It’s essential to note that no two HMOs or HMO plans are the same. While the points above are true for many of the best HMO in Nigeria, there are exceptions, and you should always read the fine print before putting pen to paper on any HMO contract.
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Are HMOs Worth It?
An HMO has a couple of restrictions, and you have to evaluate them against the benefits to understand and determine if subscribing to an HMO plan is worthwhile.
One restriction is that you need a referral from your primary healthcare provider to see another doctor and have it covered in your plan. For instance, you cannot unilaterally see an optician without a referral from your family doctor. Breaching this rule means you’ll have to cover the entire cost unless it’s an emergency.
Also, both your primary healthcare provider (family doctor) and the medical practitioner you’ll see must be part of the HMO’s network, which is something else to worry about. Again, there’s an exception from emergencies, but what exactly is an emergency in HMO terms?
The answer to that question is another crucial restriction to note when dealing with HMOs. HMOs answer that question differently, and the definition can be insanely strict. Consider understanding what your provider defines as an emergency before seeing a doctor instead of assuming; you can usually talk to a representative for support or read the fine print.
So, are HMOs worth it? If your employer doesn’t offer a healthcare plan for you or your family, a health maintenance organization is a low-cost alternative to consider. While there are some cons associated with using an HMO, choosing one of the best HMO in Nigeria will mitigate most of those, leaving you with a company that offers quality healthcare for a limited amount of money.
11 Best HMO in Nigeria
Nigeria has its fair share of HMOs offering low-cost health coverage to clients. Here are the 11 best HMO in Nigeria providing a good balance of quality service with low monthly or annual premiums.
1. Reliance HMO
Reliance HMO is easily one of the best HMO in Nigeria, offering plans for individuals, families, and businesses. The company’s popularity is not unrelated to its huge network, with contracted health professionals in several Nigerian states.
In addition to the huge network of hospitals and healthcare professionals, Reliance HMO has an app for Android and iOS users to manage their plans without dialing any customer support number. With organizations like Paystack, Jumia, and OPay using Reliance HMO, it can pass for the best HMO in Nigeria.
2. Hygeia HMO
Hygeia may not have the popularity and network of Reliance, but it’s one of the oldest and most reliable healthcare providers in Nigeria. While Hygeia HMO focuses its plans on medium and large companies, individuals and families can benefit from them as well.
They work with plenty of huge Nigerian brands including Interswitch, Shell, Multichoice, and Emzor, among others. If you’re avoiding Reliance HMO for any reason, Hygeia is the next best HMO in Nigeria to consider.
3. Health Point HMO
Health Point’s mission is universal healthcare coverage for all Nigerians, regardless of their economic or social standing, and their plans reflect it. You can get Health Point HMO health maintenance packages as cheaply as N800, and they offer free healthcare coverage for widows and orphans.
Health Point has different packages for different budgets. The available packages include Standard, Pro, Pro+, and Pro Max. You can check their website for the differences and similarities to understand which would work best for you.
4. Total Health Trust HMO
Total Health Trust’s coverage is not limited to Nigeria, as it has a couple of providers across other African countries. However, whether or not you can access healthcare outside Nigeria will depend on which of their plans you buy, as they currently have the Lite, Classic, Classic Critical Care, Plus Africa, and Global Elite packages.
Like most competitors, Total Trust offers coverage for individuals and businesses, and its network spans at least 500 private healthcare centers countrywide. The company has been operational since 1998, making it one of the oldest and best HMO in Nigeria.
5. GreenBay HMO
GreenBay offers several cost-effective health maintenance plans for individuals, corporate bodies, and workplaces. There’s also free coverage for the less privileged that covers orphans through the Agape Medical Scheme.
Unlike most competitors, GreenBay HMO focuses on individuals rather than businesses, and they don’t have the list of high-profile clients you typically see on the average HMO website.
The company also doesn’t have a mobile app for either iOS or Android users, so clients are stuck with the web interface, which is okay. Thanks to the insanely cheap or even free plans, we have little to complain about GreenBay HMO, even with all it lacks, earning it a place on our best HMO in Nigeria’s list.
6. AIICO HMO
AIICO HMO started operating in 1997, making it one of the oldest HMOs in Nigeria, but that’s not the only quality that makes it exceptional. It also works with some big-name clients, including corporations like Dufil, FedEx, and Wema Bank, easily putting it in contention for the best HMO in Nigeria.
AIICO has several plans for clients to choose from, including the Standard, Executive, Super Executive, Magnum, and Evacuation plans. The company has a network of health professionals spread across several Nigerian states, making it one of the best HMO in Nigeria.
7. RedCare HMO
RedCare HMO is one of the better budget options for Nigerians after a health maintenance organization with an extensive network. With over 600 hospitals across all 37 states in Nigeria under the company’s belt, we have no complaints about their network, and their plans cut across all budget categories and client types.
RedCare HMO has a mobile app that clients can use to manage their accounts, and it’s available for Android and iOS users. Probably to prove that RedCare is one of the best HMO in Nigeria, they have several big-name clients, including organizations like Deloitte, Dangote Group, 9mobile, and Etihad Airways.
8. Anchor HMO
Typically, HMOs require you to have a primary healthcare provider, and you can only see another doctor if the former refers you to them. However, Anchor HMO shines because it offers roaming plans that let you see multiple doctors without needing referrals, making it more practical for families that don’t live together.
Also, Anchor HMO offers a series of affordable plans split into two categories: Corporate and Retail. Corporate customers can contact the company for a unique quote, but retail customers can choose between the Welfare Basic, Individual Robust, and Maternity Robust plans. Thanks to its flexibility and extensive network, Anchor is one of the best HMO in Nigeria.
9. Novo HMO
While Novo HMO works best for corporate bodies and smaller groups like families, students, and domestic staff, they have a plan for individuals after a basic health maintenance plan too. Their plans include NHA Corporate, NHA Retail, NHA Transnational, and the classic NHIA plan.
Novo HMO also has a mobile app for Android and iOS devices that customers can use to manage their healthcare plan, but you can simply use the website if that isn’t your thing. With clients from many top Nigerian organizations, there’s little reason not to consider Novo among the best HMO in Nigeria.
10. Lifeworth HMO
Lifeworth offers health maintenance plans for as little as N2,613 per person per month, depending on how many people you plan to cover and the size of your group. They have private individual plans, private plans for couples, private plans for a family, corporate plans for individuals, and corporate family plans.
Boasting clients like Honda, Spectranet, and FCMB, Lifeworth is a market leader in the HMO space in Nigeria. For more extensive healthcare coverage, you may want to check out the organization’s international plan; you don’t get that with many HMOs!
11. MetroHealth HMO
MetroHealth has so many plans that even a client may have issues keeping track of them. There’s a corporate plan for organizations with 20 members or more, a ‘self and family plan’ that’s self-explanatory, a ‘Sweet Sixties’ plan for clients between 60 and 69 years, a MetroFlexi plan, and a Metro Telemedicine package.
MetroHealth’s HMO plans cover x-rays, lab and diagnostic tests, HIV/AIDS care and treatment, dental care, pediatrics, pregnancies, emergencies, physiotherapy, surgeries, and glasses. With many high-profile clients, including the Lagos State Government, Dangote Group, Leadway Pensure, FCMB, and Domino’s Pizza, MetroHealth is undoubtedly one of the best HMO in Nigeria.
Conclusion
Looking for an excellent HMO in Nigeria is a bit of a task, but it’s not impossible, especially when you have a list of the best HMO in Nigeria to help. Here are 11 health maintenance organizations that would easily contend for the prize of the best HMO in Nigeria.
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