- EDOHIC Digitizes Health Insurance, Trains Providers Ahead of September 1 Go-Live
By Portia Osayande
The Edo State Health Insurance Commission (EDOHIC) has commenced digital training for healthcare service providers and facility desk officers simultaneously across the three senatorial districts of the State ahead of the 1st September, 2026 go-live of its new Online Portal Version 1.0.
According to the Director-General (DG) of the Commission, Dr. (Mrs.) Augusta Ikpea-Enaholo, represented by the Director of Health Services and Standards, Dr. Osayuki Edosa-Iyayi, the training which is critical to ensuring a smooth transition from the Commission’s existing manual processes to the new digital system, was part of the Commission’s stakeholder-readiness efforts to ensure that healthcare providers and frontline users are adequately equipped to navigate and effectively utilise the digital platform. She explained that the portal is designed to automate key health insurance processes, including enrollee verification, authorisations, referrals, claims processing and enrolment.
Dr. Ikpea-Enaholo submitted that the deployment of the portal aligned with the administration of the Governor, Sen. Monday Okpebholo, which has prioritised improved access to quality healthcare and the deployment of technology to strengthen public service delivery.
The DG of EDOHIC asserted that the portal would enhance productivity within the Commission while making healthcare insurance processes faster and more seamless for enrollees and healthcare providers. She noted that processes such as verifying enrollee details and CIN numbers, obtaining authorisations and processing referrals would be handled electronically. According to her, the automation would significantly reduce waiting and turnaround times, particularly for facilities requiring approval for referrals and other authorisations, as requests and responses would be processed through the platform.
The Technical Adviser to the Commission, Mrs. Ifeyinwa Odungide, described the training as an important step towards preparing stakeholders for the transition to the new system. She said the platform represented a significant upgrade from the manual system previously operated by the Commission, particularly in claims processing, adding that automation would improve response time and reduce administrative delays.
Mrs. Odungide added that the digital system would also strengthen transparency and accountability by ensuring that requests and transactions are electronically captured and tracked, thereby improving monitoring and reducing opportunities for fraudulent practices.
The Commission’s Senior Claims Officer, Dr. Fejiro Oghi, said the deployment of the portal would significantly improve the efficiency of claims processing. He explained that claims officers previously relied largely on manual processes to receive, review and respond to requests from healthcare facilities, which could sometimes result in delays. He said the new platform would provide a structured digital channel for receiving and processing requests, thereby improving the experience of healthcare providers and enrollees.
A participating healthcare provider Desk Officer at Bethel Medical Centre, Mr. Bright Kerimu, described the software as user-friendly and expressed optimism that it would reduce the workload associated with processing enrollee requests. He noted that the opportunity to interact with the platform ahead of its deployment would enable facility desk officers to become familiar with its functionalities and provide better support to enrollees when the system goes live.
With the Online Portal Version 1.0 scheduled to go live soon, EDOHIC expects the deployment to mark a significant transition in the administration of health insurance services in line with its mandate of expanding healthcare coverage across Edo State.
