A former Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has questioned the competence of opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) to govern the country.
Addressing a stadium full of party supporters at the final rally of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sylvester Mensah, slammed the party for what he says is an inefficient management of the scheme.
Mr. Mensah scorned the party and urged teeming party supporters to vote massively for the governing NDC to keep the NPP in opposition.
He said the NDC inherited the scheme when utilization was just below 9 million, a situation he believes clearly shows the inefficiency of the scheme under the NPP.
“We inherited the scheme when utilization was just below 9 million. Utilisation is simply the number of people who access healthcare using the Health Insurance Scheme. At the time we took over in 2009, utilization was below 9 million…If this is not inefficiency, I do not know what this is about. And these are the people who today are talking about health insurance and think that the good people of this country should hand over the reins of this country to them to continue mismanaging this scheme.”
The NPP has consistently accused the Mahama-led administration of starving the scheme of the necessary funds hence leading to its collapse.
They have thus promised to revive it should they be given the opportunity on December 7, 2016. The law that introduced the National Health Insurance Scheme, (NHIS), was passed during the regime of the Kufuor administration.
At the time, the NDC then in opposition, voted against the Bill, but turned around to promise a one-time premium ahead of the 2012 elections, only to fail to implement it.
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By; Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana