Service Providers suggest NHIS sustainability measures

By
Julius K. Satsi, GNA

Accra, July 17, GNA –
The Health Insurance Service Providers Association of Ghana (HISPAG) says the
sustainability of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) remains shaky in
view of the high level of indebtedness.

Speaking at a media
conference on Monday, Mr Frank Richard Torblu, the Executive Director of
HISPAG, said there was the urgent need to delink the scheme from politics and
allow the technocrats to find innovative ways to effectively manage and sustain
the scheme.

He said this was
necessary to win confidence of well-meaning Ghanaians in the scheme.

Mr Torblu said the
politicisation of the Scheme over the years had created a difficult management
environment for the technocrats to apply prudent and efficient economic
management practices to ensure effective governance and sustainability.

“I encourage all
Ghanaians to jealously guard and guide it [the NHIS] to ensure its
sustainability since posterity would not forgive any group of people or
individual whose actions or inactions are geared towards its [NHIS’]
destruction,” he said.

On financing of the
Scheme, the Executive Director of HISPAG said the current sources could not
support the existing claims presented by the providers to the NHIS.

The current sources
were National Health Insurance levy, 2.5 per cent of Social Security National
Insurance Trust (SSNIT) contribution, premium, donor funding and returns on
investment.   

He noted that while
on the average, a person pays a premium of GH¢ 30.00, the Scheme pays an
average claims of GH¢ 75.00.

This, he said, has
created a financing gap of not less than GH¢450million represented as GH¢ 45.00
per utilisation and an average utilisation of 10 million insured clients of the
NHIS.

Mr Torblu said if
stringent measures were not taken to introduce some other funding sources, the
indebtedness of the NHIS to providers, which he said was GH¢715million, would
swallow the Scheme leading to its collapse latest by ending of next year.

“We, therefore, suggest
to the Cabinet and the Government of Nana Akufo-Addo to heed to the call of
setting aside one per cent of the petroleum revenue to support the operations
of the NHIS,” he said.

He also called on
the President to uphold the proposal from the management of the Scheme to save
it from total collapse. 

He said the NHIS was
on the verge of collapse because the providers were making loses to the extent
that some were unable to buy essential drugs anymore, pay utilities timely, and
other administrative expenses.

Mr Torblu said there
was the need to adhere to the period for review for the Scheme as it had not
been so thereby making prices at which services were provided outdated.

He called on the
former Presidents of the Republic to add their voices to setting aside of one
per cent of petroleum revenue as an additional funding sources to the scheme
and also the total removal of political colouring and inclination of the
Scheme.

GNA 

قالب وردپرس