<<Print>>

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Sylvester Mensah has surprisingly asked private medical and dentist practitioners that have raised objections with regards to the Capitation programme of the Authority to stay away from it. Mr. Mensah, who was infuriated, said the Capitation programme was not binding therefore any private medical facility that was not interested in the programme could abandon it. He sternly warned that any private medical facility that would abandon the Capitation programme would not be required to render services to patients under the National Health Insurance Scheme. The NHIA CEO made the remarks after one of the attendants at the meeting said the implementation of the Capitation programme in the Ashanti region is being done in a manner that has brought about confusion. He therefore suggested that the NHIA, in the interest of the nation, should suspend the implementation of the Capitation programme and deliberate with key stakeholders to address the problems. Mr. Mensah, who was dissatisfied with the statement of the speaker, noted that the authority would not deal with any medical facility that abandons the capitation programme. Mr. Mensah�s bombshell immediately incurred the wrath of the private medical and dentist practitioners present at the meeting, which was held under the auspices of the NHIA in Kumasi on Thursday to address problems affecting the Capitation programme. He said those against the implementation of the Capitation programme had taken that weird stance because they were benefitting from the fraud that had engulfed the NHIS which the authority wants to stop. The attendants of the meeting incessantly hurled insults and jeered him, stopping the programme briefly in the process. Later on when sanity prevailed, the private medical and dentist practitioners unanimously stated that the Capitation programme lacked education and could be hit with fraud. They suggested that the NHIA should immediately suspend the Capitation programme, agree on realistic rate for providers, which should be opened to both providers and clients before its implementation at a later date. Present at the meeting was the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr. Kwaku Agyeman Mensah.