NHIS ‘Trots’ Back To Health

The Minister of Health, Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu has assured Ghanaians that the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) under the present government would work again.

According to him, the government in collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MoH) is committed to reviving the scheme and ensuring that the ordinary Ghanaian benefits from it again.

In order for the NHIS to work again, the minister said, a significant portion of outstanding indebtedness to health service providers under the scheme has been cleared.

From January to November 2017, an amount of GH¢1,115,375,298.57 had been released to the NHIS to help clear outstanding debts, he indicated.

Mr Agyeman-Manu made this known when the Ministry of Health (MOH) met the press in Accra, on Thursday.

“In previous years we could see situations where for six to seven months there would be no release from Ministry of Finance to NHIS. A law was being breached but now judiciously every month, there is some money that gets to national health and that is what we are using to clear the arrears for providers and suppliers as well,” he stated.

The minister said, the NHIS under the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC), had sank to its knees and was practically crawling to survival but today, the story seems different.

“…now it has caught up again only that it has started walking like a toddler. We want to make sure that it begins to trot and eventually start running for the health of our people,” Mr Agyeman-Manu said.

NHIS To Experience New Reforms

In reversing the unfortunate trend that the NHIS has experience in the past, the minister announced that there was going to be a restructuring of the scheme.

“A committee was set up to do an appraisal and review of the systems that we have in the health insurance in the view of reforming the entire NHIS system,” he said.

The Minister continued: “A cabinet memo has been submitted for approval for the proposed reforms to commence and when it comes out soon, we will see implementation of it.”

Source: Grace Ablewor Sogbey/ [email protected]