NHIA reviews prescribed medicines for service providers
The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has announced a reviewed and approved medicines list to be prescribed by service providers under the scheme.
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The list is made up of 517 different formulation medicines which cover all conditions named in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) benefit package that includes 95 per cent of reported disease conditions locally.
The list is expected to be operational from March 1, 2016.
The scheme has also released reviewed service tariffs, the cost of managing medical conditions, including diagnoses, investigations or laboratory tests, surgeries and admissions for the 2016 operational year.
The Chief Executive Officer of the authority, Mr Nathaniel Otoo, made the announcement at a press conference in Accra yesterday.
Tariffs
He said the approved tariffs included all the resources used by the hospitals to manage patients, excluding medicines.
“In all, 88 per cent of the medicines on the 2016 list saw an upward adjustment of their prices and the rest had their prices maintained or reduced. The review is done to ensure that prices the National Health Insurance Authority pays for medicines and services reflect current economic and market realities, taking into account the economic scale of the scheme,” he explained.
Adjustments
According to him, on the average, the price adjustment for medicines was 24 per cent, adding that “this is just an average but in reality, some medicines saw over 100 per cent price adjustment.’’
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With regard to tariffs, the NHIA boss explained that the price adjustment was 27.5 per cent
Mr Otoo debunked allegations that the scheme did not have sufficient variety and stock of medicines on its list and described such reports as inaccurate.
According to him, they had quality medicines for all the listed health conditions in the benefit package.
He said it was important to note that the 2016 review process took particular interest in safe motherhood by allowing the administration of oxytocin and egometrine at the lowest level of health care, based on the directive by the Ministry of Health.
“These two medications are lifesaving because they prevent postpartum haemorrhage and bleeding after delivery,” he added.
Publication
Mr Otoo said for the first time since the institution of the scheme, approved medicines would by next Tuesday be published in the media and posted at all health facilities to enable patients to know which medications they were entitled to, thereby empowering them to demand what was due them.
He said the NHIA was committed to improving the work of service providers and NHIS subscribers and that the authority would continue to engage all stakeholders to ensure quality service delivery under the scheme.