The Asante Development Union (ADU), a pressure group, on Friday staged a peaceful demonstration in Kumasi to demand immediate abolition of the insurance capitation being piloted in the Ashanti Region by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).
It said the new payment system and the controversy over its implementation was putting the health of the people in danger and it must be put on hold until all the nagging issues were resolved.
The demonstrators, clad in red and black and wearing red armbands, carried placards with messages reading �Capitation is killing us�, �Capitation must go�, and �Government must abolish capitation.�
They marched through some principal streets in Kumasi amidst brass band music, and presented a petition to the Regional Office of the NHIA.
Mr Edmund Oppong-Peprah, Coordinator of the ADU, speaking to the media after the march, said they found it difficult appreciate why the NHIA remained obstinate in its decision to go ahead with the capitation despite calls by all major stakeholders that there needed to be a second look.
He said some NHIS card bearers were becoming anxious and confused because they could not access health care due to challenges presented by the new system.
Mr Oppong-Peprah said the decision by private health service providers in the region not to accept the capitation had also compounded the problem.
He appealed to Government to revert to the old system and remove the NHIA Chief Executive for jeopardizing the health of the people in the region.
Mr Peprah said the group would continue to demonstrate on the streets until the NHIA listened to its concerns.
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