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The short answer
You buy cover for parents in Nigeria from a health maintenance organisation (HMO), which pays a network of hospitals for care your parents receive under a yearly plan. Check the plan's age limit, how it treats pre-existing conditions such as hypertension or diabetes, and which hospitals near your parents are in its network before you pay; the HMO's own plan document is the final word.
How an HMO plan works
An HMO in Nigeria sells a plan, collects the premium, and arranges care through hospitals and clinics in its network. Your parents register with a primary hospital, go there first for routine care, and need the HMO's approval (usually called a referral or authorisation code) before specialist treatment or admission elsewhere. Hospitals in the network are paid by the HMO; your parents should not be asked to pay out of pocket for services the plan covers.
HMOs are regulated by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA). The NHIA's 2024 complaints report, as reported by ICIR in June 2025, logged 3,507 complaints, resolved 2,929 of them and sanctioned 47 HMOs and 49 health facilities. The HMO problems it named included delays and denials of referral authorisation codes; the facility problems included charging patients for services already covered. That is useful to know: the plan is only as good as the HMO's speed in issuing codes and the hospital's willingness to honour them.
Older parents: age limits and pre-existing conditions
Many standard plans are written for working-age adults. Reliance HMO's exclusion list for its small business plan, for example, includes adults over 65 outside the eligible age range, as well as children over 18. If your parents are in their late sixties or seventies, look for a plan built for older people rather than adding them to a general plan.
Some HMOs now publish seniors plans. Bastion HMO's Seniors Plan, described on its blog in February 2026, is for people aged 55 and above, covers pre-existing conditions such as hypertension and diabetes, and says there is no waiting period for chronic care. It listed three tiers at the time:
| Bastion Seniors Plan tier | Price per year (as published Feb 2026) |
|---|---|
| Oak | ₦290,109 |
| Blossom | ₦461,554 |
| Golden | ₦1,068,507 |
These are the HMO's own marketing figures as at February 2026. Prices change, and we have not checked this HMO against the NHIA's accredited list, so confirm both with the HMO and the NHIA before buying. We list it because it publishes prices, not as a recommendation.
What plans usually leave out
Read the exclusions page before the benefits page. Reliance HMO's published exclusions (page modified October 2026) include:
- All medical expenses incurred outside Nigeria
- Advanced surgeries, cosmetic and dental procedures
- Custodial care
- Injuries from epidemics, war, riots or strikes, and high-risk sports
Each HMO's list differs, but the pattern is common: routine and chronic care is covered, expensive procedures are capped or excluded, and nothing abroad is covered. If a parent may need major surgery, budget for it separately; our guides on surgery in Nigeria or abroad and paying a hospital bill from the UAE cover that.
Worked example (illustrative)
Take two parents on a seniors plan at an example price of ₦461,554 each per year: ₦923,108 in total. If the father also takes blood pressure medication that costs an example ₦25,000 a month and the plan covers it, that is ₦300,000 a year he no longer pays at the pharmacy. If the plan excludes it, your real annual cost is ₦923,108 plus ₦300,000, or ₦1,223,108. Ask which drugs are on the plan's formulary before you assume they are covered.
Choosing and paying from the UAE
- Ask your parents which hospital they trust, then ask each HMO whether that hospital is in the plan's network.
- Ask for the plan document, not just the brochure: age limits, waiting periods, exclusions, annual caps and the drug list.
- Check the HMO is accredited on the NHIA's own site.
- Ask how to pay and in what currency. Bastion's page says you can pay from abroad but does not say which cards or currencies; many HMOs simply take a naira transfer.
- Get the policy number, the HMO's 24-hour line for authorisation codes and the ID cards to your parents before they need care.
- Set a calendar reminder a month before renewal.
Set your parents up to use it
Cover bought from Dubai often fails at the hospital desk because the people using it were not briefed. Before the first visit, make sure your parents know the name of their primary hospital, carry their HMO ID card or a photo of it on their phone, and have the HMO's authorisation line saved. Ask them to call you, or the HMO, before paying for anything at a hospital in the network. Keep a copy of the policy schedule yourself, so that when a call comes from the ward at night you can quote the policy number and the benefit limit without waiting for anyone to find the paperwork. After the first few visits, ask your parents how long codes took and whether they were asked to pay; that is the best test of whether to renew with the same HMO.
If you are already sending a monthly allowance, add the premium to that budget rather than treating it as a one-off; see supporting parents on a UAE salary.
Where Pryme fits
With a Pryme account opened from the UAE you can hold naira and pay an HMO's Nigerian account directly with Send, using Swap to convert when you choose, with the rate and fee shown before you approve. A verifiable receipt from receipts gives your parents proof of payment if the HMO's records lag behind.
Questions people ask
Can I buy an HMO plan for my parents in Nigeria from Dubai?
Yes. You deal with the HMO directly, register your parents with a hospital in its network and pay the premium, often by naira transfer. Ask the HMO which payment routes it accepts from abroad.
Do HMOs cover parents over 65?
Some general plans exclude adults over 65. Look for a plan written for older people and check its stated age range.
Will the HMO cover my mother's diabetes?
It depends on the plan. Some seniors plans state they cover pre-existing conditions such as diabetes; others impose waiting periods or exclusions. Ask for the plan document.
What do I do if the hospital asks my parents to pay for something covered?
Contact the HMO first. If it is not resolved, you can complain to the NHIA, which sanctioned HMOs and facilities for this kind of failure in its 2024 report.
Sources
- ICIR: NHIA sanctions HMOs and facilities over service failures (30 Jun 2025) · accessed Oct 2026
- Reliance HMO: small business plan exclusions (modified 22 Oct 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- Bastion HMO: how the Seniors Plan works (25 Feb 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.