Organised labour kicks against 2.5 percent deduction

Accra, Aug. 21, GNA- Representatives of Organized Labour in Ghana (OLG) on Thursday said it rejects government's position to deduct 2.5 per cent from its contributions to SSNIT for the proposed National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

Addressing journalists in Accra on the scheme, Mr Kwesi Adu-Amakwaah, Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress of Ghana noted that organized labour, " welcomes the idea of the national health Insurance scheme, especially one that can be introduced within the framework of social health insurance."


He said, "we of organized labour do not agree that 2.5 per cent of SSNIT funds should be taken by government to fund the NHIS."


Present at the briefing were the leadership of the Civil Servants Association (CSA), Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Ghana Registered Nurses Association (GRNA) and the Judicial Services Staff of Ghana (JUSAG).


Mr Adu-Amankwaa noted that implementation of the NHIS is a complex issue and that if this is not carefully done, the "scheme can lend itself to considerable abuse and lead to greater inequity in health provision".


He questioned the particular benefits workers and other contributors of the 2.5 per cent would derive.


He said if SSNIT has room to expand its benefits, contributors should be made aware of the additional benefits.

Mr Adu-Amankwaah also questioned the anticipated relationship between the NHIS and the existing medical provision schemes to which contributors to SSNIT belong, adding that, " what would be the impact of the 2.5 per cent deduction on the solvency of the SSNIT scheme". He said OLG does not support an approach that significantly undermines the autonomy of existing schemes.


"The classification system that designates non-district Mutual Schemes as private commercial schemes sets the stage for discrimination against such schemes," adding that, " that would be a slap against private initiative for a government that proposes the promotion of the private sector as the engine of growth and that will amount to acting counter to its best intentions."


Mr Adu-Amakwaah questioned the proposed levy on transactions and expenditure as well as the mode of collection and management, "taking lessons from the GETFUND and its administration."


He said the OLG has a problem with the National Health Insurance Council as proposed in the Bill.


"The proposed structure raises for us the spectre of a huge and expensive bureaucracy that will burden the health insurance budget with its huge costs.


"In our view, a National Health Insurance Council should effectively develop out of the effort to coordinate existing viable health insurance schemes in the country," Mr Adu-Amankwaah said.

He said the OLG believes that a viable scheme must set out the responsibilities, of healthcare providers, including infrastructure, staffing and education, adding that clause 24 of the Bill, however, "prohibits insurance schemes from carrying on activities other than securing provision of healthcare for their members."


Mr Smart Chigabatia, Executive Secretary of the CSA urged government to lengthen the period of discussion and consider the views that OLG will sample on its national tour.


"Government must listen to us and make sure that our views are heard."


Mr Chigabatia argued that existing health insurance schemes should not be scrapped but be made the basis for developing the current NHIS.