Chamber of Pharmacy agitates over NHIA’s delay in payments

The Chamber of Pharmacy has expressed concern about the National Health Insurance Authority’s (NHIA) delay in paying claims to its service providers.

According to the Chamber, the last payment made by the NHIA to service providers was a year ago, thus in August 2018, a situation which had made it difficult for them to provide medicines on credit to health institutions.

Mr. Anthony Ameka, Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Pharmacy Ghana, raised these concerns at the opening of Rokmer Pharma Limited wholesale distribution centre at Kaneshie in Accra on Wednesday.

He said the pharma sector would soon take drastic steps against the NHIS service providers to compel them to pay for their supplies on time.

“We will soon commence an action whereby the hospitals shall be made to provide payment guarantee from reputable banks before we supply products to them on credit,” he said.

Mr. Richard Acheampong, Managing Director of Rokmer Pharma Limited, said the centre would distribute over 20 pharmaceutical products imported and branded by Rokmer from India, Pakistan and other countries.

He envisioned that Rokmer would grow and get listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) by 2025 by offering high quality and affordable health products and services to clients in the West African Sub Region.

He said Rokmer would be a solution provider in the health sector by exploring existing and new market opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry.

The wholesale centre would according to him provide a door to door service to its customers in Pharmacies to curtail the ordeal that retailers go through.

Mr. Acheampong said Rokmer was furnished with high quality pharmaceutical products to serve the health needs of the public.

He said the opening of Rockmer Pharmacy falls in line with the President’s vision and Ghana’s Pharmaceutical Development Strategies, which seeks to improve the well-being of the public by ensuring access to quality and affordable medicines.

Mr Acheampong called on the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to review the cost of registration of new products and also reduce the long periods in approving new medicines to help them remain in business.

He observed that the cost of medicines in Ghana was the highest in Africa due to high exchange rates and high cost of product registration.