We Have Revived NHIS ―Prez

President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has indicated that efforts by his government to ensure that every Ghanaian has access to proper healthcare have restored respect to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) card.

According to him, his government, under the auspices of the Ministry of Health (MoH), has cleared a substantial part of the debts and arrears incurred by the Scheme under the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The president made this remark while delivering the State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Parliament yesterday.

“This (payment of NHIS debts) has led to the revival of the NHIS, and the renewal of respect for the NHIS card. The health needs of our people are being better served,” he said.

Nana Akufo-Addo reiterated his promise to continually provide proper healthcare for the good people of Ghana.

He said, “We dare not compromise on the health of the population.”

The president also promised to better the working conditions of health workers, stressing that it would in turn improve healthcare delivery in the country.

“Moreover, as we work to open up the country, I hope that our efforts of improving the conditions of work for health workers would be appreciated and there will no longer be the reluctance to serve in some parts of Ghana,” Nana Akufo-Addo assured.

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr Samuel Annor, a fortnight ago, expressed concerns about the financial state of the scheme.

He said the scheme, which provided equitable access and financial coverage for basic health care services to Ghanaians ought to be supported and sustained.

In a related development, Rosina, an Accra-based NHIS client, told yours truly in an interview that her experience, while using the card, pits against the president’s claims.

According her, NHIS services in the hospitals she has visited have been poor recently, saying: “You are even billed for paracetamol.”

Meanwhile, reports from other reliable sources, which seem to confirm the claims of Rosina, also have it that new registrations onto the insurance scheme had been halted in some parts of the country.

By: Grace Ablewor Sogbey/ [email protected]