NHIS Capitation Operational In 3 More Regions

After 26 months of piloting the capitation grant in the Ashanti Region, the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) last Wednesday rolled out the capitation initiative in three other regions. The regions are Upper West, Upper East and Volta. Briefing the media during a day�s sensitisation programme in Wa, the Project Director of the Capitation Roll-out Programme, Mr Anthony Gingong, said under the capitation, funds were made available upfront to the various health facilities operating the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) for the treatment of their clients. The programme attracted health personnel, service providers and staff of NHIS. Mr Gingong, therefore, called on the general public to select and register at the nearest health facility, be it CHPS Compounds, health centres or district hospitals. This, he said, was to do away with the situation where patients moved from one health centre to another with the same ailment. He explained that under the system, a client could be treated only at where he or she had been registered. He said the pilot programme revealed that most people sought treatment at health facilities where they had not been registered. The Project Director said, however, that if after six months a client was dissatisfied with his or her health facility, for one reason or another, that client could move to another facility and re-register. Mr Gingong said the inclusion of the CHPS Compound in the scheme would give many people access to basic health care, since CHPS Compounds, which make up 57 per cent of health facilities, were closer to the people in the Upper West Region. He said at the national level CHPS compounds constituted 56 per cent of health facilities, adding that they, therefore, held the key to health delivery in the country. Mr Gingong encouraged the general public to register at the nearest health facility to ensure smooth coverage.