Private hospitals cautioned against over-billing National Health Insurance
Mr Sylvester Mensah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), has cautioned private hospitals against over-billing under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) that was crippling the scheme.
He cited that private medical practitioners presented bills for the treatment of common malaria and admissions as if they were for complicated malaria and admissions that were high.
Mr Mensah was speaking at the opening of the 31st Annual Congress of the Society of Private Medical and Dental Practitioners, organised on the theme “Road Traffic Accidents-A National disaster”, in Cape Coast.
On drug dispensation, the CEO noted that about 80 per cent of drugs provided by the private clinics were anti-biotics and instead of prescribing just one anti-biotic drug to a patient, about two or three different anti-biotics were given at the same time, swelling the bills of clients.
Mr. Mensah observed that most of the medical officers in the public sector also worked as private practitioners who always “refer patients to their private clinics for further treatment”, resulting in double billing, putting a stress on the NHIS and threatening its sustainability.
He called for collaboration between the NHIS managers and private health care providers to help sustain the scheme.
Source: GNA
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