The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has secured a court order to freeze all accounts belonging to First Fidelity Health Insurance, a private mutual health insurance provider.
[contextly_sidebar id=”pp9swun1uDWZqWFW2X1SxL2pEEWmp8kE”]It follows threats from customers of first fidelity health insurance to hit the courts to retrieve monies belonging to them after the company failed to pay claims presented to it.
According to the NHIA the court order is to preserve the contributions of clients of first fidelity health insurance.
Speaking to Citi Business News NHIA’s Communications Manager, Selorm Adonoo said the NHIA as the regulator seeks to protect the interest of policy holders and will ensure that service providers are paid what is owed them.
“The NHIA as regulators of the private insurance scheme market in Ghana, we had a number of meetings with the managers of the first fidelity health insurance scheme on matters concerning the scheme…….scheme’s mangers reported refusal to pay claims. We have secured a court order to preserve the contributions of subscribers and that court order was secured on the 19th February 2015 and that is where we are with the situation.”
According to the NHIA it is currently tabulating the total number of health providers and policy holders with the first fidelity insurance scheme, to know the cost or the amount of claims to be paid by the scheme.
It adds that the exercise will help in determining the next line of action as provided in the law (Health Insurance Act 852 of 2012) that enjoins them to regulate the industry.
“So that is where we are now so we will ask policy holders, services providers to be patient as we put together the data which as I said will determine our next line of action but for now we have secured a court order to freeze or prevent them from going into their accounts.” He stressed.
By: Norvan Acquah – Hayford/citifmonline.com/Ghana