One-stop NHIS premium payment system not sustainable

Accra, Jan. 7, GNA - A Medical Practitioner has called for the postponement of the implementation of the one-stop National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) premium payment system to allow for proper cost benefit analysis to determine its viability.

Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, Executive Director of Healthy Ghana, health promotional NGO made the call when addressing participants at a symposium on the topic: "Promoting the Nation's Health", at the on-going 61st Annual New Year School in Accra.

He pointed out that the sustainability of such a system in the medium term was questionable and needed to be reconsidered.

Prof. Akosa, a former Director-General, Ghana Health Service, appealed to President John Evans Atta-Mills to set up an independent body to review and undertake an effective cost benefit analysis before its implementation.

He noted that the import of premium payment in insurance was well known, saying: "nowhere in the world does any insurance system rely on one premium payment only", therefore the implementation of such a system would have an adverse effect and even worsen the inherent weaknesses and problems of the health services.

Prof. Akosa, also a former Head of Department of Pathology, Korle-Bu Teaching and University of Ghana Hospitals, said since the law entreated the National Health Insurance Council to look for other sources or mechanisms of funding there could be the introduction of other flexible modes of premium payments such as the batter system of trading, for people in very poor and culturally endemic communities in the country.

He also proposed the introduction of a Health and Sports Lottery to be operated on Wednesdays and Saturdays for the first 10 years shared on 40:60 for health and sports and thereafter, shared 50:50, citing the US Lottery on Sports which for the past 14 years had yielded magnificent revenue, he said Ghana could emulate it.

Prof. Akosa said such an investment in sports infrastructure and equipment in Ghana would ultimately benefit the health service by making Ghanaians healthier and reduce dependency.

Prof. Akosa pointed out that Ghana's health was weak, poor and riddled with many fundamental problems which ranged from inadequate trained and motivated health personnel, poor health infrastructure, and lack of support for health education as well as poorly developed health systems.

He advocated for the prioritisation of the home-grown health care delivery system as developed in the Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) programme, which should be fully funded to ensure improved health care delivery at the doorsteps of all Ghanaians.

Prof. Akosa former Director General of Ghana Health Service (GHS), said within the two per cent of the population where the CHPS was working, there was evidence of great reduction in maternal and child mortality, improved nutritional status and greater uptake of family planning as well as immunization.

He stressed the need to scale up the local training of health personnel including Community Health Nurses, Medical Assistants, Nurses, Doctors, Dentists and other professionals allied to medicine, in order to manage and secure a very robust and trusted health care delivery system for the country.

Mr. Jonathan Allotey, Executive Director of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who spoke on the experiences and effects of climate change, urged Ghanaians to be responsible and ensure a clean and healthier environment.

He said the phenomena of climate change had the tendency of impacting negatively on land, food production, water, rainfall and temperature patterns as well as general health of people due to the emissions of dangerous natural or artificial gases in the atmosphere.

Mr. Allotey cited public education as a major key to warning society about the biological, physical as well as the chemical dangers of the environment to help reduce human contributions to climate change and also minimise its health dangers and effects.

Mr. Nathaniel A. Armah, Director of Research and Development, Zoomlion Ghana Limited, speaking on waste management urged government to strengthen public-private partnership of waste management to help eliminate the increased solid and liquid waste generated daily in the urban centres that had led to widespread outbreak of diseases.

He said the conflict between private waste management companies and the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies(MMDAs) over the monopoly of waste collection should be critically examined and resolved to bring about proper environmental sanitation at all levels.