‘Have confidence in NHIS, it’s stronger now’
A director of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr Anthony Gingong, has asked Ghanaians to have confidence in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), because, according to him, the scheme is stronger than it started.
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Mr Gingong, who is the Director of Provider Payment, said the scheme now covered a wider range of ailments.
He was speaking at a workshop organised in Ho for the various health facilities in the region to review their activities under capitation and to establish the level of performance of each facility.
The workshop was also used by the NHIA to evaluate and examine the package of services under capitation and also come up with modalities for the transfer of monies the NHIA owed the facilities under capitation.
Capitation is a payment system that allows subscribers to choose their health facilities, while a predetermined fixed per capita rate is paid in advance to cover their hospital bills.
Settlement of indebtedness
Mr Gingong said the NHIA would by October transfer monies to settle all debts it owed service providers under the capitation system to all facilities in the Volta, Upper East and Upper West regions, where capitation was being implemented.
“But before we pay capitation money, we will settle outstanding debts up to June this year,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mr Gingong has entreated health facilities implementing capitation to put in place measures to encourage more Ghanaians to join the scheme.
He said more than half the population had not registered with the scheme, for which reason health facilities ought to assist the NHIA to get them on board.
He explained that under capitation, the amount paid to health facilities depended on their figure of enrolment.
“What this means is that, the more you enrol, the more money you get at the end of each payment period,” Mr Gingong pointed out.
Volta Region
Mr Gingong said the Volta Region was the best in the implementation of capitation, explaining that “the region has achieved 107 per cent with its Preferred Primary Provider (PPP) enrolment.”
He asked for their support to improve on the system.
The Volta Regional Manager of the NHIA, Mr Elliot Akototse, commended the health facilities and traditional leaders for leading the capitation process that had been successful in the region.