NHIS, a burden on health providers?
By Awudu Salami Sule, Ghanadot
Accra, July 27, Ghanadot - Health is the state of
complete physical, mental and social well-being as well
as the absence of disease and infirmity.
It was therefore not strange when Ghanaians embraced the
National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) after its
introduction some years ago to enjoy affordable health
care in the country.
Before the introduction of NHIS, Ghanaians were paying
for high fees at the various hospitals and it is
therefore seen by Ghanaians as saviour.
However, the billows of smoke that is emanating from the
camp of the NHIS show that all is not well with the
administration of the scheme.
Thus, some hospitals in the country have threatened to
stop implementing the NHIS and go back to the cash and
carry system in order to ensure smooth running of their
hospitals.
The hospitals complained that authorities of NHIS had
reneged on its promise of paying claims to them and it
is indebted to them in billions of new Ghana cedis.
An example is the Tamale Teaching Hospital in the
Northern Region. According to the Director of
administration of the hospital, Mr K.K Boakye, the
Tamale Mutaul Health Insurance Scheme owes it about GHC
1.4 million.
This he said had put pressure on the hospital, which
condition had been described as a death trap.
He revealed that of the indebtedness, the authorities of
the hospital had found it difficult to difficult to get
supplies of certain basic drugs and equipments for the
hospital's smooth operations.
Another case in point is that of the Asamankese
government hospital in the Eastern Region.
The administrator of the hospital Mr Kwame Ampadu told
media men last week that the hospital was on the verge
of collapsing and it was as a result of the failure by
the Asamankese Mutual Health Scheme to pay claims to
them.
According to the hospital administrator, the Asamankese
Mutual Health Insurance Scheme owed the hospital to the
tune of GHC 460,000 and has not released any money to
them since January this year.
"Since January this year to date we have not been
reimbursed and there are no logistics to cater for a
patients", Nana Ampadu revealed.
Government hospitals in Kade also in the Eastern Region
and Agogo in the Ashanti Region have all threatened to
go back to the cash and carry system after claiming that
the NHIS has disappointed them.
Many more hospitals across the country have also come
out to expressed their worry over the work of the
National Health Insurance Scheme in reimbursement and
have all threatened to go back to the cash and carry
system.
What is therefore wrong with the NHIS is the question
posed to the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of
the scheme, Mr Sylvester Mensah in an interview.
He identified the problem of the scheme as that of
corruption which he said some managers are involved in.
He revealed that some of the managers of the scheme at
the various districts used the money available to them
to enrich themselves rather than paying the claims of
the beneficiary hospital.
This he said was due to the improper account being taken
by the scheme managers and which has given some of them
the opportunity to milk the scheme dry.
His outfit he said has identify some of these corrupt
managers and has set up full scale investigations into
their activities, though he failed to mention any of the
scheme manager's name.
Mr Mensah indicated that, the government is planning to
centralised the activities of the scheme so that it
could control its finances and put an end to the
difficulties encountered by hospitals in accessing their
reimbursement.
"This will also help the government to make reality the
promise it made to Ghanaians for the one time premium of
the health insurance scheme", he added.
Ghanadot
