Section 59: Interpretation.

In this Act -
"administrative charge" means the deduction from contributions or premiums set aside for operations of the Authority;
"Authority" means the National Health Insurance Authority established under section 1 of this Act;
"benefit" means a benefit or advantage of any kind derived from a scheme;
"benefit packages" means the services that the Authority defines as within its scope of coverage;
"capitation" means a payment made to a primary health care provider on behalf of a contributor for services to be rendered by the Health Care Provider and this
payment is made regularly and in advance irrespective of whether the enrollee utilises the service or not;
"Council" means the Governing Council established under section 4 of this Act;
"employee" means any person who is ordinarily resident in Nigeria and is employed in the public or private service or an apprenticeship with an employer whether the contract is express or implied, oral or in writing;
"employer" means an employer with five or more employees which includes the Federal, State and Local Government or any extra-ministerial department or a person with whom an employee has entered into a contract of service or apprenticeship and who is responsible for the payment of the wages or salaries of the employee including the lawful representative, successor or assignee of that person;
"enrollee" means a person who has enrolled with the Authority and who, being up to date with payment of premium, is entitled to access health care in accordance with the benefit package;
"fee-for-service" means payment made directly for completed health care services, not included in the capitation fees and paid to a health care facility or prescription following appropriate referrals or professionals following appropriate referrals or prescriptions sent to them by health care providers under this Act;
"functions" includes powers and duties;
"Health Care Facility" means any government or private health care facility, hospital, maternity centre, pharmacy or physiotherapy and includes all primary health care facility, secondary health care facility and tertiary health care facility accredited by the Authority for the provision of prescribed health services for insured persons and their dependants under this Act;
"Health Maintenance Organisation" means an organisation accredited under section 33 of this Act to perform the functions stipulated under this Act and has the acronym 'HMO';
"informal sector programme" means health insurance plans designed to cover people not on regular income;
"Insured person" means any person and eligible dependant who pays the required contribution or for whom contribution is made under this Act;
"Minister" means the Minister responsible for health;
"Ministry" means the Federal Ministry of Health;
"Mutual Health Association" means a group accredited by the Authority to perform such roles as defined in the Act and has the acronym 'MHA';
"persons" includes persons, organisations, institutions or groups;
"premium" means a contribution payable for health coverage under this Act;
"Public Service of the Federation" and "Public Service of a State" have the meaning respectively assigned to them in the Constitution;
"scheme" means any Health Insurance Scheme approved by the Authority;
"States and Federal Capital Territory Office" means offices established by the Authority in the States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
"Third Party Administrators" means any organisation with expertise and capability to administer all or a portion of the insurance claims process, including administration of claims, collection of premiums, enrolment and other administrative activities, which is registered by the Authority and has the acronym 'TPA';
"vulnerable group" include children under five, pregnant women, the aged, physically and mentally challenged and the indigent as may be defined from time to time; and
"wage" means remuneration in money paid to an employee under his contract of service or apprenticeship, as the case may be and whether agreed to be paid at fixed or determined intervals of time.