Cash and carry system back in Prestea/Huni Valley

Some health facilities in the Prestea Huni/Valley District are operating on the cash and carry system due to the failure of the National Health Insurance Authority to honour their claims.

Health facilities in the district operating the cash and carry system included the Prestea Government Hospital, four health centers, six CHP compounds and two community clinics.

The District Director of Health, Mrs. Caroline Otoo, confirmed this to the Ghana News Agency in an interview at Bogoso on Friday.

She said the district health directorate decided to take this action because the National Health Insurance Scheme has failed to pay claims submitted by health facilities in the district for nine months.

Mrs. Otoo said that the district health directorate had no alternative, but to withdraw from the National Health Insurance Scheme until the National Health Insurance Scheme pays the claims.

The District Health Director said that due to the mounting debt, suppliers were refusing to provide the needed drugs and equipment, adding that, this was posing a threat to the quality of service.

Mrs Otoo, therefore, called on the management of the National Health Insurance Scheme to reimburse them as soon as possible for the health institutions to carry out their good work to save lives.

The Member of Parliament for Prestea Huni/Valley constituency, Mr. Francis Adu-Blay Koffie expressed worry about the situation and said he had taken the necessary steps to ensure that the matter was resolved.

He pointed out that although the scheme was going through a lot of challenges, the government was working hard to ensure that it becomes one of the best in the world.

Mr. Koffie expressed gratitude to all health employees in his constituency for exhibiting hard work to sustain the scheme.