The Ghana Health Service has appealed to stakeholders of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to device a strategy to sustain the scheme in the wake of financial constraints.
Dr Mohammed Bin Ibrahim, Ashanti Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service, who made the appeal noted that the whole world was looking at Ghana for implementing a national health insurance scheme and no effort should be spared to sustain it.
Addressing a meeting of the scheme�s stakeholders in Kumasi, he said the NHIS had reached an advanced stage and charged the new Board of Directors to bring their expertise to bear on its operation to make it a success. �We expect members of the board to be working, to be functional, visiting scheme providers at the district level throughout the country, and not to limit their stay only in Accra,� he pointed out.
Dr Ibrahim expressed concern about the shortage of insulin and other drugs in the system, compelling scheme providers to buy at higher prices on the open market. Scheme providers complained about a number of issues hampering the smooth running of the NHIS, including delay in the payment of claims, poor communication and mistrust between the scheme managers and service providers. They also raised the issue of the free maternal care and asked whether it should be continued or not. According to them they were running at a loss since they were not being paid. They explained that pregnant women attended the hospital six times before delivery but only GH�14.00 was paid them, which excluded the cost of medicines.
Nana Dr Kwakye Marfo, a former member of the National Health Insurance Council, noted that the former administration secured funding from the United Kingdom for the free maternal care but patronage had been more than anticipated.
He said the government was working to ensure that the NHIS generally lived up to its expected goals. He explained that the delay in payment of the claims was due to the process which the budget had to go through including approval by Cabinet and Parliament.
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