Health Insurance problems are law related - Sory

Ho, July 25, GNA - Problems associated with the implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) have to do with the law which established it and the "political mood" with which it was born. Dr Elias Sory, Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), made the observation in response to concerns raised by Senior Health Managers about the Scheme in Ho on Thursday. He said the law needed to be reviewed to reflect the corporate interest and viability of the health facilities. Dr John Eleeza, Ho Municipal Director of Health said the GHS was playing second fiddle to the NHIS and that could cripple the accredited service providers.

He alleged that contracts prepared by the National Health Insurance Authority were without the input of the GHS. "There is constant push of recurrent cost to GHS institutions," and that was eating up the Internally Generated Funds of the facilities, he said. Mr Raymond Avinu, Acting Volta Regional Co-ordinator of the NHIS, in his response, said refunds to the health facilities would be made within the next week or two.

He urged the health providers to admit and resolve their internal problems rather than blame them on the NHIS. Mr Avinu alleged that the health facilities had changed their attitudes for the worse towards clients of the Mutual Health Schemes and played on their ignorance. He said officials of the Mutual Health Schemes were not in the business of reporting people but to engage in constructive talks to resolve problems.

Information available to the Ghana News Agency showed that many of the drugs under the NHIS especially the expensive ones were hardly available at the hospital pharmacies. As a result NHIS clients were often directed to designated drug stores which were reluctant to provide those drugs on grounds that the prices quoted for them by the NHIS were way below the market prices. Clients were therefore compelled to buy those drugs at the prevailing market prices sometimes at the NHIS designated pharmacies or elsewhere.

Sources at the Ho Municipal Mutual Health Scheme told the GNA that clients who faced such problems could file complaints with the Scheme for redress, but some of them were reluctant to assist the scheme to investigate their complaints for fear of victimization. A source at the NHIS said the prices of its approved drugs had not been reviewed for a year now.