GH₵31m released for National Health Insurance in Eastern Region

The Government has released GH₵31,142,027.46 from January this year to date for the payment of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) claims in the Eastern Region.

Mr Windham Emil Afram, Eastern Regional Manager of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), who disclosed this at a mid-year review meeting on the Scheme in the Region, said that most service providers had been paid their claims up to August.

He said the release of the amount indicated government’s commitment to the sustainability of the scheme, adding “We can therefore confidently boast of near prompt payment to service providers”.

Mr Afram said the last clinical audit that was conducted in the first quarter of the year saved the scheme thousands of Ghana cedis.

“The scheme gained close to GH₵100,000.00 from just one health facility through claims, which were not supposed to have been paid”.

Mr Afram said that the Region had been doing well under the NHIS with regards to membership coverage and claims management among others.

He said that the Region was part of the financial auditing that had been undertaken but the “good news was that the findings have been purely anomalies in book keeping process and not financial malfeasance.”

Mr Afram said the scheme would organize training for its staff.

He said there had been improvement in the processing, production and delivery and distribution of identity cards in the country.

Mr Afram said the NHIS as part its national registration, was registration people during festivals, market days and other activities.

Mr Afram said that the “one-time premium” policy of the NHIS was feasible, adding that modalities for its implementation would be outlined by the close of the year.

Source: GNA