All Public Health Institutions Are Broke -HASAG

The Health Accounting Staff Association of Ghana (HASAG) has disclosed that all Public Health Institutions in the country are cash strapped due to the non-payment of claims submitted for September and October 2013 to the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).

HASAG made the disclosure in a communique, jointly signed by Mr. Justice Ahorlu, National President and Mr. Saeed Hussein Yakubu, National Secretary, at the close of its fifth Annual Congress at Abesim.

They expressed concern about delays in reimbursement of claims from the National Health Insurance Authority to health facilities in the country, adding that prompt releases of claims to health facilities would enable the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to provide prompt and quality health care services to the citizenry and appealed to the government to address the matter.

The three-day Congress attended by health accountants and Internal Audit staff of the GHS was under the theme, ‘The Role of Health Finance Professionals in Strengthening Health Systems.’

 
HASAG reiterated its commitment to promoting transparency and accountability in managing public funds in the health sector, and welcomed efforts and progress made so far in the development and implementation of the Second Tier Pension Scheme for staff of the GHS.

Acknowledging these efforts, the association advised the government to direct the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to consider its position of not accepting funds earmarked for the Second Tier Pension any longer. It called on the Board of Trustees of the scheme to expedite action to offload funds meant for the scheme into investments.

The association also stressed its commitment to playing the gatekeeper role and financial adviser to health managers in a bid to improve on revenue generation and incur expenditure in line with approved budgets. It therefore, appealed to the GHS to support the association with logistics.