According to the Authority, the proposal is one of the options of finding additional sources of funding to sustain the NHIS policy, since the 2.5 percent NHIS levy collected under the Value Added Tax (VAT), and the 2.5 percentage Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) contributions appear to be adequate.

[contextly_sidebar id=”bQNd20zhtKA7bEQJT1hgx0Um16rq9eYN”]Dr. Samuel Annor, Chief Executive Officer of the NHIA, said this when he appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to respond to some violations contained in the 2015 Auditor General’s Report in relation to the National Health Insurance Scheme.

The PAC is currently holding public sittings on the Report of the Auditor General for the Public Accounts of Ghana for the year ended 31st December, 2015.

Dr. Annor also explained that the reason for the suggestion to tax alcohol and tobacco is borne out of the fact that the nation is likely to spend more in treating people with alcohol and tobacco related illness thus affecting the programme.

He said providing additional source of funding to sustain the programme would go a long way to end the cycle of indebtedness of the NHIS to its service providers.

Dr. Annor also acknowledged that, confidence in the NHIS was waning as a result of gradual decline in the renewal of the cards over the last two years, saying that, it is a huge concern.

He explained that the number of subscribers to the scheme reduced from 11.3million in 2015 to 11 million in 2016.

Dr. Annor, however noted that, over the last three months, there has been some improvement in the number of subscribers to the scheme, and expressed the hope that the increase would continue for some time to come.

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Source: GNA

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The arrears, according to the hospital’s management, have had a toll on day to day running of the hospital over the past 12 months.

[contextly_sidebar id=”JPgh3NXXVfiGjndL6kcovR5V5mebDUbZ”]In a Citi News interview, the Medical Director of the Hospital, Dr. Eric Sefa, revealed that the last NHIA payment was in March 2016. He the situation is very challenging although they are managing to survive.

“The health insurance coverage is about 60 percent so we have 40 percent of people who pay cash and that is what is taking us through. We have suppliers that we owe. The people supply us with medicines and other items and if we are not able to pay them early, they also refuse to supply us with the items, so sometimes you are forced to buy the things with cash.”

Dr. Sefa added that, a settlement from the NHIA would be critical because “we need it to run our daily activities for the children in the wards. We need to buy food items for them every day so it all goes a long way to affect us.”

Early in February, the NHIA assured that it was collaborating with the Ministry of Health to release monies to pay suppliers overdue NHIS claims.

Most complaints have come from government hospitals which have said the delay in the payment of their claims is affecting healthcare delivery.

Speaking to Citi News, the Director of Communications for the NHIA, Selorm Adonoo, explained that the delay can be attributed to the processes involved in releasing monies.

Meanwhile, the authority recently inaugurated a claims payment software to facilitate the smooth and early payment of claims to service providers.

This came as some service providers have threatened to cut services to the scheme over delays in the payment of their claims.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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It was a major concept conceptualized to ease the burden of prospective subscribers of the NHIA.

The concept was mooted and hinged on a single premium payment of prospective subscribers.

The concept if it had been implemented, would have afforded prospective subscribers to pay a onetime premium without making any future payments.

But there appears a glimmer of hope in the horizon as a private health institution comes with the needed intervention to bring succor to the prospective patients. One such institution which has blazed the trail in the world of Health Insurance is C4C Homeopathic Hospital.

C4C Homeopathic Hospital has devised a Health Insurance policy which has been fashioned to mitigate the financial health challenges of ordinary Ghanaians.

There is a growing concern about the challenges bedeviling the country’s national Health Insurance Scheme as many pundits have expressed disquiet about the effectiveness of the Health Insurance Scheme of the country. It must be noted that that the mere collapse of the NHIS could have dire consequences of the current Health system. There is therefore the need for such private initiatives to be encouraged to serve as a buffer to complement efforts of the government in providing health care needs of the people.

The C4C Health Insurance scheme is designed specifically as a one stock shop of all medical needs and it comes by making onetime payment, renewable yearly. It must be stated without mincing words that the premium involved is within the reach of the ordinary person.

Some of the essential medical needs that are covered under the insurance scheme are, free folder, free laboratory, free consultation services, free physiotherapy services, free dietary consultation, among others. It is worth mentioning that the C4C has started piloting the initiative in some selected Regional and District capitals dotted across the country.

Some of the piloted areas are the offices of the C4C at Accra, Cape Coast, Takoradi and Konongo.

The C4C Health Insurance Imitative is expected to replicate this into full operation in the other regional and district capitals.

They are expected to replicate it in Ho, Sunyani, Tema and Nkawkaw among others.

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Source: C4C Homeopathic hospital

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