The difficulties often encountered in out-of-pocket financing of health has compelled introduction
of pre-paid health insurance in many developing countries. This study assessed rural households’ access to
health facilities and their willingness to pay for the National Health Insurance Scheme being implemented by
the Nigerian government. Data were collected from 102 rural households from some villages using the
multi-stage stratified random sampling. The descriptive and Probit regression methods were used. Results show
that general ratings of the conditions of health facilities were very low and awareness about NHIS is low. The
Probit regression revealed that amount able to pay, frequency of illness, workability and coverage of the
scheme were statistically significant (p<0.10). The study concluded that NHIS will improve access of rural
households to quality health services, but issues of awareness and proper design of the scheme to ensure
workability and higher coverage should be considered.