According to him, though the scheme is making strides in providing universal health care access to citizens, there was the urgent need for government to address the critical challenges confronting it.

[contextly_sidebar id=”L5hQbKQHdNgPqvtiGjyvbtM5cF085iFU”]Speaking at the NHIS’ 2017 annual review in Bolgatanga, Mr. Alangpulinsa said, the scheme, which has registered 569,629 members, representing 47 percent of the population and has generated GHC2,135,869, is threatened with numerous challenges that need government’s immediate attention.

“There are challenges threatening the sustainability of the scheme, among them are delays in the reimbursement of service providers resulting in the provision of poor quality health services with low premium payments,” he said.

“There are also issues of increasing cost of reimbursement, false claims submitted by some service providers, fraud, corruption and weak human resource capacity.  Inadequate supply of ribbon papers, printers and computers  leading to long queues and  waiting times at our offices in registering new members.”

Mr. Alangpulinsa hinted that the government has proposed other sources of funding that, when implemented, would address the funding gap hindering the Scheme.

“Management of NHIA in collaboration with organized labour has sensitized various stakeholders on the additional sources of funding to the scheme which includes a percentage of oil revenues, tax on cigarettes, alcoholic beverages and sugar tax,” he added.

“We also want a percentage of the communication tax, 1% increment in the National health levy, 1% direct contribution of employees salaries and 2% from employers”

Mr. Alangpulinsa added that the Bolga municipal, Bawku West and Nabdam districts have been piloted for family planning inclusion programmes under the scheme.

He hinted that the newly-created districts will be getting their NHIS offices in due course.

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By: Frederick Awuni/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Delayed payments hurting service providers – U/E NHIS appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Professor Mante-Kole, who was speaking at a public lecture organised by the Ghana Kidney Association in commemoration of World Kidney Day 2018, urged the Ministry of Health to partner his outfit by funding their draft policy, which seeks to bring relief to the uncountable number of kidney disease patients in Ghana who depend on dialysis treatment for survival.

“The Association has developed a draft National Renal Care Policy with the aim of establishing guidelines for a durable and effective guide to the treatment of Chronic Kidney Disease and providing a template for total renal care in Ghana. The draft National Renal Care Policy reviews the sorry state of real care in Ghana and proposes ways of improving it in a holistic manner from prevention of kidney disease to tertiary management with renal replacement therapy,” he revealed.

“It also proposes the inclusion of renal care under the coverage of National Health Insurance Scheme and the provision of a subsidy for dialysis care for patients with End-stage Kidney Disease,” he added.

Professor Mante-Kole further lamented the lack of adequate dialysis units in every nook and cranny of the country, a situation he described as sad.

“Only five regions in Ghana have dialysis units but these should be available in all regions in Ghana. Majority of patients with chronic disease are young patients, aged between 25 and 50 years. An age at which these people should be economically active, looking after their children and wives or husbands and working.”

Further lamenting the ages of patients mainly affected by kidney disease, Professor Mante-Kole called for rapid action to save lives.

“A major source of concern is the fact that a large portion of these patients first consult a specialist when they have reached End-stage Kidney Disease requiring replacement therapy.”

According to him, “aggressive decrease in kidney function, leads to Chronic Kidney Disease, which, as it worsens, leads to ill health and eventually when untreated, leads to death in Africa. Nobody dies from Chronic Kidney Disease in Europe, the US, Canada, Japan or China, except in Africa. Chronic Kidney Disease is common in Ghana with 1 in every 8 adults living with the disease. So one in eight of us sitting here has the disease without knowing because of renal adaptation.”

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By: Akosua Ofewaa Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post NHIS must cover kidney disease – Ghana Kidney Association appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

After the NHIS is introduced in some areas, some special collectors were appointed to support in the collection and renewal of cards at various scheme branches in remote communities with a commission.

[contextly_sidebar id=”4gwUlsKMLGSfQ13RZQFLsglgtVEbz0L2″]Barimah Owusu-Kwarteng, the spokesperson for the NHIS card-bearers in the areas, made the appeal in an interview with the Ghana News Agency after the management of the Agona East and Agona West branches of the NHIA, had organised a two-phased sensitization, registration and renewal programme at Agona-Duakwa.

He said the reintroduction of the scheme collectors system would immensely help in the collection of clients’ expired cards for renewal to ease the burden of under-staffed branches.

It would also assist clients, especially farmers in remote communities to renew their cards in good time when they expire, and avoid paying penalties, Barimah Owusu-Kwarteng said.

He advocated for effective collaboration between scheme managers of the branches and collectors, chiefs, municipal and district assemblies, so that they could together appoint honest, God-fearing, dedicated and committed people to handle the collection.

Barimah Owusu-Kwarteng said this would help to prevent financial malpractices by prospective collectors, a situation which led to the abolishing of the collection system about 12 years ago, adding that; “if possible, such important duty should be given to assembly members.”

More than 1,600 clients whose NHIS cards were expired were renewed by officials of the Agona Swedru branch of the scheme.

Among the beneficiary communities of the programme are Agona Mankrong Junction, Agona Asafo, Agona-Kwasakrom-Zongo, Agona-Nsaba, Agona Mensakrom, Agona Kwanyako and Agona Duakwa.

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Source: GNA

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He stated that since the IMF bailout may take while, the Euro Bond will help shore up the economy.

The $1 billion Euro bond, which is to be used to fund government’s capital expenditure in the 2014 budget, will also be used as counterpart funding for pipeline projects and the refinancing of domestic and external debt.

Speaking to Citi Business News, Dr. Godfred Alofa Bokpin, who is also a senior lecturer at the at the University of Ghana said the IMF  bailout and the 1 billion Eurobond would boost investor confidence in the economy.

“Going to the IMF, vis-à-vis issuing the third Eurobond, might be good for us because when we sign off on the IMF bailout, we will be under some kind of supervision which will make investors have confidence to purchase our bond,” he explained.

He added that Eurobond will help Ghana build its international reserves and provide a backup for the cedi.

“It will also help build our international reserves. Because the inflows of IMF will not come soon, the Eurobond with the cocoa syndicated loan, we might be able to stabilize the cedi preventing it from further depreciation.”

By: Norvan Acquah-Hayford/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Euro bond, IMF bailout good for Ghana – Financial Analyst appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.