Govt resolves NHIS payment delays — Bono NHIA Director
The government has resolved the bottlenecks causing delays in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) reimbursements to healthcare providers, the Bono Regional Director of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Isaac Badu Amponsah, has said.
He explained that the government had uncapped the NHIA Levy, a situation which gave the authority enough funds to ensure prompt and regular payment of claims.
Mr Amponsah who was speaking to journalists after a special education and free registration exercise in Sunyani and Berekum last Thursday, said the government had restored the dignity of the scheme.
The staff of the Bono Regional office visited the Nana Bosoma Market in Sunyani and Berekum market under the "NHIS Storm" project to register traders and school them on the need to enrol in the scheme.
Clear arrears
Mr Amponsah said the NHIA had cleared its long-standing arrears and ensured timely reimbursements to help the facilities deliver quality services.
"The reset agenda under the NHIA is on course. Now, NHIS is working. The government is paying claims promptly and has also cleared all the outstanding debt owed to health facilities.
"It's unprecedented. This tells us how President John Dramani Mahama is poised to make sure Ghanaians get quality health care without any financial constraint," he said.
Mr Amponsah said the NHIA had been going to communities, mainly deprived areas, to register community members.
MahamaCares
He said the NHIA also educated the public on the "MahamaCares" initiative, which was being implemented to bridge the current gaps in healthcare financing.
Mr Amponsah explained that while the NHIS covered 95 per cent of diseases, the MahamaCares initiative would cater for the five per cent of chronic diseases such as stroke, heart and kidney failure, diabetes, sickle, among others.
He, however, explained that one could only access health care if they had an active NHIS card.
Mr Amponsah said the authority would continue to prevent and address issues likely to hinder quality healthcare.
He warned the service providers to desist from charging unapproved fees and operate within their limits.
He urged the public to report to the authority if they suspected illegalities.
Berekum target
At Berekum, the Berekum Municipal Director of the NHIA, Gabriel Kyer, said the office had so far registered 125,000 people, representing 95 per cent.
He said this year, the office had targeted to register 131,000 people and expressed the hope that the office would achieve its target by the end of the year.
Mr Kyer said the municipal office had put in place measures to prevent health facilities from charging illegal fees.
He explained that the office had been receiving reports of illegal charges and payments, which prompted them to act swiftly to save the image of the scheme.
Mr Kyer said some of the cases had been reported to the national office for action and urged the public to report such illegal cases for redress.
He encouraged the public to register to benefit from the scheme, adding that the scheme was now robust.
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