As part of its ongoing efforts to enhance healthcare access, the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has opened a new district office in Damango, located in the West Gonja Municipality of the Savannah Region.
This brings the total number of district offices established by Chief Executive Dr. Da-Costa Aboagye to nine since he assumed office in March of this year.
This strategic initiative reinforces the NHIA’s commitment to Universal Health Coverage, ensuring that all members of the population have access to quality healthcare without financial or geographical barriers.
Addressing a durbar of local officials, healthcare providers, and community members ahead of the official opening of the office, Dr Aboagye reiterated that the National Health Insurance Scheme addresses 95 percent of primary healthcare needs, underscoring the importance of this expansion.
He was accompanied by the Deputy Chief Executive, Mr. Frederick Gilbert Addy, some Directors and other staff including the Director in charge of Private Health Insurance (Schemes) Directorate, Alhaji Hudu Issah, Ag. Director, Legal Directorate, Annette Obenewaa Adutwum (Mrs),Ag. Director, Corporate Affairs Directorate, Mr. Oswald Essuah-Mensah and Ag. Director Administration, Mr. Raymond Avinu.
The rest are Senior Manager, Mr. Louis Lawer Lawerteh, Estate Unit, Senior Manager, Corporate Affairs, Abdul Karim Naatogmah, Officer, Corporate Affairs, Ebenezer Danso, Officer, Corporate Affairs, Shaniece Palm and Officer, Estate Unit, Charles Odamtten.
Dr Aboagye said the NHIA’s presence in the region is anticipated to simplify health insurance services, enabling individuals and families to more easily access the benefits they are entitled to under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
Appeal against illegal Charges He made a passionate appeal to all stakeholders of the NHIS, urging them to refrain from charging Scheme members for services and medications that are already covered under the NHIS, or from enabling such practices, which he termed illegal.
He particularly appealed to the Ghana Health Service, the Private Health Facility Association of Ghana and the Christian Health Association of Ghana, and all NHIA credentialed facilities to desist from the act.
“Often referred to as co-payment, this illegality undermines the sustainability of the Scheme and erodes public confidence in it.“This is why my team and I are dedicated to putting an end to this issue.
However, we need the support of all stakeholders, including staff, NHIA-credentialed facilities, and Scheme members, to achieve this goal.“Our commitment to tackling the issue of co-payments—where patients are charged for services already covered by the NHIS—is a key component of our reforms,” he said.
Dr Aboagye outlined some strategies the government was pursuing to fight the canker of illegal charges or co-payments.
He mentioned them to include prompt payment of claims, the introduction of E-pharmacy and automatic tariff adjustment.“We acknowledge that timely payments to healthcare providers are essential for the curtailing of co-payments.
As a result, we are implementing proactive measures to eliminate unpaid claims and ensure prompt payment to service providers.“Currently, we have paid claims up to August 2024 and have no vetted outstanding claims to pay.
We are now calling on facilities to submit their claims for payment to enhance services under the Scheme.“Reflecting on our journey, it is important to highlight that in 2017, the NHIA faced a staggering debt of 1.2 billion Ghana cedis, which equated to our entire budget for that year. “As a result, health facilities went unpaid for a full year, leaving many Ghanaians struggling to access necessary care.“
However, thanks to the dedicated efforts of President Nana Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr. Alhaji Mahamadu Bawumia, we have successfully reversed this situation.
“Today, we are proud to announce that the NHIA has achieved unprecedented claim payments, with over Ghc800 million cedis disbursed in just the past month, along with an additional over GHc300 million cedis disbursed in October,” he said.
Dr Aboagye explained that E-Pharmacy policy initiative will also enable pharmacies to manage prescriptions more efficiently, enhancing medication access for all patients.“Under this policy, if a credentialed pharmacy (whether part of a hospital or independent) does not have a prescribed medication in stock, they are required to upload the prescription to the E-Pharmacy platform.“This will help them locate another NHIS-credentialed facility in the patient’s community that does have the medication and guide the patient to retrieve it.
Alternatively, the medication can be delivered directly to the patient’s home through the Property Addressing System,” he said.
Applause Many stakeholders at the event, including the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for West Gonja, Karim Musah Kusubari who represented the Member of Parliament for the area and Minister of Lands and Natural Resources-Samuel A. Jinapor- applauded the government and the NHIA Boss for the inclusion of dialysis, mental health and childhood cancers into the NHIS benefit package.
Describing Dr Aboagye as a visionary and proactive leader, he commended him for driving preventive care to reduce the country’s disease burden and cost of care.“The introduction of the Free Annual Health Check, which allows Ghanaians to receive health assessment during their birth month emphasises the early detection of diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, ultimately helping to lower healthcare costs and enhance quality of life,” he said.Ahead of opening this office he had opened the Suaman and Juaboso District Offices in the Western North Region.
He will also commission similar offices at at Kpandai, and Savelugu in the subsequent days.
The highlight of the event came when most stakeholders present joined NHIA Chief Executive Dr. Aboagye on the dance floor, singing and dancing to his favorite tunes by the musician King Paluto- “Nyame Ne Nyira Yen”
SOURCE: DOREEN ANDOH
