The Chief Executive Of The National Health Insurance Authority Dr. Dsane Baaba Selby Must Sit Up www.EweGhana.Net
 |
| The National Health Insurance Scheme Service Providers Should Understand The Reason Behind The Scheme: The Chief Executive Of The National Health Insurance Authority Dr. Dsane Baaba Selby Must Sit Up www.EweGhana.Net |
The National Health Insurance Scheme was established by the government of Ghana in 2003 to provide equitable access and financial coverage for basic healthcare services to Ghanaian citizens.
The idea was conceived by Former president John Agyekum Kufuor who when seeking the mandate of the people in the 2000 elections promised to abolish the cash and carry system of health delivery. Kudos to him.
Unfortunately, the National Health Insurance Scheme is doing more harm than good, so the National Health Insurance Authority boss must sit up.
The NHIS is funded by revenue generated from seven sources.
First and foremost from earmarked budgetary allocation through a system of ringfencing, secondly, through a NHI Levy imposed at the rate of 2.5 percent on the supply of goods and services, through Social Security Contributions , through the periodic renewal and subscription fees among others.
This implies that the tax payers money is used to finance The National Health Insurance scheme but Dr. Selby and her team only sit in their offices and allow hospitals and clinics to dupe poor patients when they ( patients)go to seek medical attention.
Thereafter, the National Health Insurance Authority again pays claims which may be justified by those hospitals and clinics falsely,especially the private ones. My investigations revealed that some private hospitals don't take the national health after 8pm, yet, they go for full claims.
This is unacceptable and must be investigated.
The NHIS covers outpatient services including diagnostic testing and operations such as hernia repair, most in-patient services including specialist care, most surgeries and hospital accommodation ( general ward); oral health treatments; all maternity care services including caesarean deliveries, emergency care etc.
Do our hospitals go by these? Some ask patients to pay for accommodation, others charge for maternity care services. They ought to be investigated.
The idea behind the establishment of the NHIS is therefore bleeding and something must be done now. These illegal charges is preventing NHIS enrolment.
The NHIS pays 90 million Ghana Cedis a month on claims. On 17th June,2020, the NHIA told us that it has paid a total of 598 million Ghana Cedis to NHIS service providers as claims. What are the stakeholders doing to prevent these illegal charges on patients.
The National Health Insurance Authority, District Coordinators of the NHIS, the Ghana Health Service and the District Health Management Teams who supervise the district hospitals, health centres or clinics must all sit up. Patients are suffering in the hands of these hospitals and clinics.
This attitude of corruption and ineffective governance, poor stakeholder participation must end. Finally, there is no clarity on concepts in the policy and so wide education must also be done.
The NHIS service providers are seriously corrupt because of lack of stakeholder participation. Dr Selby must sit up.
Kennedy Addo-Sunu.
COMMENTS