Nsawam (E/R), Nov. 30, GNA- The Board Chairman of the Akuapem South Mutual Health Insurance Scheme, Nana Akuffo Akoto, has appealed to President Kufour to use his executive authority to order for the registration of all pupils in basic schools.
He said the current situation where children qualify for the scheme only upon the registration of their parents was not the best. Nana Akoto said such a measure would be a major boost to government's effort to assist children aside of the capitation grant and the free transport to school.
Speaking at the second Annual General Meeting of the Akuapem South Health Insurance Scheme at Nsawam on Friday, Nana Akoto pleaded with the President to treat his request with the outmost consideration. "If we consider the care of Ghanaian children as part of the responsibility of the state, then the registration of pupils for health insurance will act as an additional incentive to attract children to go to school and make them stay in school as well." Membership of the scheme in the district has increased from 21,540 in 2006 to 49,899 as at October this year, out of the projected population of 116,000.
Nana Akoto said the hospital collected premiums and registrations fees totaling GH cedis 61,488.50 and GH 43,957.10 respectively during the same period, while it received GH cedis 444,751 and GH cedis 47,309 from the Insurance Council.
He said despite the sterling performances, the scheme is still dogged with a number of problems including poor staffing, lack of office accommodation and the need to adequately remunerate the staff to avoid attrition.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Affram-Asiedu who was the guest of honour, expressed his misgivings about the reported cases of rampant abuses of the scheme by premium bearers. Of particular worry, he said, was the unnecessary use of services, which health experts say is putting a severe squeeze on facilities. The Executive Secretary of the Revenue Agencies, Mr Harry Owusu, who chaired the function warned against any form of misuse of the funds and appealed to the public to expose all such fraudulent practices instead of condoning it.
A number of staffers of the scheme were given various forms of award for their meritorious service to the success of the scheme.
