‘Healthcare operators should not charge unapproved fees’

The Greater Accra Regional Manager of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr Lawrence Amartey, has cautioned healthcare centres operating with the authority to desist from charging unapproved fees, technically called co-payment. According to him, the reported cases of co-payment demanded from NHIS premium holders by healthcare personnel across the country were alarming.

Speaking at the annual review meeting at the regional office in Accra last Thursday, Mr Amartey described co-payment as illegal and an abuse of subscribers’ rights, adding that the action undermined subscriber confidence.

The annual review meeting brought together staff of NHIA in the district as well as the regional offices to assess their performance for 2013.

It was also used to take stock and analyse the operational activities of the authority in the region during the year under review. 

Explaining co-payment, Mr Amartey said it was an illegal fee demanded by healthcare operators from subscribers outside the NHIS fees.

He further stated that punitive measures had been put in place to deal with those to be found culpable, adding: “we have started discrediting some institutions that engage in the act.”