The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) will start taking action against service providers and individuals who take payment for services that are covered under the National Health Insurance Scheme.
Following the increasing concerns raised by citizens about ‘out of pocket payment’ over healthcare services under the scheme which are expected to be free, the authority said it has taken note of such occurrences and will deal with the service providers and individuals’ responsible, in order to curb the situation.
It, however, called on the public to report such incidents through the call center; 6447 and also 0544446447.
The NHIA Board Chair, Dr. Ernest K. P Kwarko who disclosed this at an event to mark the National Health Insurance Authority Data Day called for zero tolerance of illegal fees charged on healthcare services.
“Talking about illegal payment, the board will take it very seriously, we have formed a special purpose committee on it to take this head-on. Looking at the seriousness of it, we might start making scapegoats, we might go as far as the law allows us to take people on and combat this illegal ‘copayment’ as it is giving us a bad name. Clients must also educate themselves on the scheme,” he said.
He called for concerted efforts to sustain the NHIS, as the country is poised to attain Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030.
Dr. Kwarko reassured the public that the NHIA will continue to make decisions that would improve the health needs of all members of the NHIS.
For her part, the Chief Executive of NHIA, Dr. Lydia Dsane-Selby said her outfit will do more training and have discussions with service providers to prevent wastage and abuse in the health system while promoting efficiency. She added that NHIS remained an important instrument to providing healthcare to all residents in the country, for which reason enrollment is mandatory.
According to her, 80 percent of the Scheme’s members renewed their membership using the short code *929# of the homegrown mobile technology, 214,823 NHIS members have linked their cards to the Ghanacard and that over 15 million records have been transferred from the National Identification Authority (NIA) to the NHIA.
Speaking on Ghana’s position on the UHC 2030 Global Compact – a global movement to build stronger health systems, Dr. Dsane-Selby reiterated the county’s commitment towards improving the health sector.
“Ghana has signed up to the UHC 2030 Global Compact – all people in Ghana will have timely access to high quality health services irrespective of ability to pay at the point of use. The NHIS is the vehicle and the road on which UHC drives. UHC by 2030 is not a mirage, it is achievable. We are committed to this agenda,” she said.
Dr. Lydia Dsane-Selby
