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The National Health Insurance Authority in Sunyani East Municipal of the Bono Region has announced a significant achievement in its performance review, organized by the Municipal Directorate in Sunyani on Thursday.
According to NHIA’s Sunyani East Municipal manager, Alhaji Abu Appiah, the municipality achieved an impressive score of 105%, placing it second out of 12 districts in the Bono Region.
Additionally, thanks to smart efforts like free registration for vulnerable individuals and mass registrations at important areas like schools and other meeting places, the district has effectively recruited 90% of subscribers in the plan, reaching universal coverage.
The Municipal Manager promised to keep up outreach efforts to persuade people to sign up for the program, stating that community involvement and public education via radio stations were major factors in this success.
Despite this success, Alhaji Abu Appiah highlighted challenges faced by the NHIA, including co-payment, lack of bus to convey vulnerables for registration, and inadequate funding, which hinder their activities.
He told Kaakyire Kwasi Afari of Sunyani-based Ark FM that faulty air conditioning systems at the municipal offices pose health concerns for workers and cause damage to equipment due to excessive heat.
He also bemoaned poor telecommunication networks at some health facilities, preventing them from accessing the NHIA system, hence appealing for support from the government and philanthropists to address these challenges.
Finally, he encouraged NHIA subscribers to link their Ghana Card with their NHIA card, revealing that the Ghana Card will soon be the sole card to access healthcare with a cautioned against healthcare facilities rejecting linked Ghana cards.
Mr. Paul Twumasi, Deputy Secretary Private Health Facility Bono Region & Director of Health Way Medical Limited called on the National Health Insurance Authority to ensure that it paid private providers on time to help address the issue of co-paying.
He said that private health facilities are unable to pay their workers, utilities, and drugs due to government’s failure to pay arrears of claims on time, stressing that the delay in payment was pushing private health providers to the brink of collapsing.
Twumasi, in his request, urged the Ministry of Health and the government to provide a dedicated store for private health facilities to buy drugs on credit and called for an end to SSNIT and Ghana Revenue Authority’s harassment over default.
Citing the many advantages NHIA subscribers enjoy from the policy, Dr. Albert Amankwah, Chairman of the Bong-Ahafo branch of the Society of Private and Medical Dentist Practitioners, is also promoting cooperation between NHIA and healthcare providers to guarantee the health insurance’s sustainability.
In his own plea, Dr. Amankwah called on the government to send medical personnel to other hospitals in order to combat the syndrome of unemployed nurses.
Additionally, he disclosed that doctors and nurses who would be assigned to private healthcare facilities are open to negotiating wage payment agreements with the government.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com/Kaakyire Kwasi Afari
