NHIA spends 128,578,851 Ghana cedis on claims

Accra, May 20, GNA - The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) on Wednesday said it has released a total of 128,578,851.00 Ghana cedis to the various health insurance schemes in the country for payment of claims between January and May 2009.

A statement signed by Mr Ras Boateng, Chief Executive of the Authority said it represented the highest release per similar periods since the inception of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). It said in releasing funds to the districts schemes for the payment of claims, the NHIA had to ensure that the existing financial management structures were adhered to, to protect the taxpayers' money. It said as far as the Authority was concerned it had been proactive in the release of funds to districts schemes for the payment of claims especially after considering the due diligence conducted before the release of the funds.

"Because of the unequal utilization of health services from district to district, the law allows schemes to file for re-insurance with the Authority anytime they are not able to honour claims payment with their available resources."

The Authority expressed surprise at recent media reports that suggested that operations of some NHIS accredited facilities were almost grinding to a halt as a result of non-payment of medical claims. "This comes against the backdrop of huge financial releases made to the various schemes operating under the NHIS since January this year." The statement explained that as was the approved practice, the Authority releases quarterly subsidies to the various schemes which were added to the premiums collected at the district level to pay claims submitted by providers.

The Authority assured its stakeholders about its commitment to the sustainability of the NHIS and will do all within its power to ensure that schemes are paid moneys that they were entitled to. It stated that in order to better serve providers within the NHIS, the Authority would appreciate feedback from them in case schemes failed to honour their obligations to them and advised that the media should not be used for matters that could be resolved administratively.