NHIS delays capitation in Volta Region due to arrears
The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has delayed rolling out the capitation system of payment in the Volta Region due to non-payment of five-month arrears to service providers.
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The programme was expected to begin in April but is currently on hold, although a campaign is being run to educate people on the new payment system.
The date for the commencement of the capitation programme was announced by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) in March.
The Volta Regional Director of NHIA, Mr Elliot Nestor Akototse, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic at a durbar at Kpando on the capitation grant, said until the arrears were cleared, the capitation system could not start.
The durbar was one of the many sensitisation programmes being organised in the region to educate the people on capitation and its importance to sustaining the NHIS, which is highly patronised in the region.
Mr Akototse said the campaign was necessary to avert any challenges in the implementation of capitation. ‘We do not want a repeat of what happened in the Ashanti Region when the system was being piloted,” he said.
He, however, indicated that efforts were being made by the NHIA to clear the arrears by the end of this month.
Inadequate funds
Mr Akototse said last year, the region mobilised a total premium of GH¢2, 552,826.85, which was woefully inadequate to pay the service providers for the period January to July, adding that the NHIA had to top up the amount with GH¢50, 602,937.
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Among other things, he called for consensus on the need for the individual premium to be increased since the current premium was too low.
Capitation
Capitation, Mr Akototse explained, was a fixed predetermined rate which would be paid in advance by the NHIA to service providers to provide health care to subscribers for a specific period.
He said the payment system would correct imbalances created by the existing payment regimes of the scheme and check corruption.
The Kpando Municipal Manager of the NHIS, Mr Lawrence Sakada, disclosed that his outfit had organised the sensitisation programme for all villages under his jurisdiction and the response so far had been good.