Hohoe Health Insurance Scheme takes off Nov. 15

Hohoe, Nov. 10, GNA - The Hohoe District Mutual Health Insurance Scheme starts next Tuesday, November 15, Mr Lawrence Sakada, the Scheme Manager announced Thursday after a health insurance meeting at Hohoe. He said though some bottlenecks were yet to be surmounted, the Assembly deemed it fit to take off while those impediments were addressed.

Mr Sakada said a total 262 million cedis being the contribution of 23,551 people in the formal sector had been collected. He said some 3,663 registered members in the informal sector were yet to fully pay up to generate a total of 83 million cedis. The Scheme Manager said of those registered, 12,287 people were below 18 years while 3,500 were in the 70 plus category. The others include 6,500 Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) contributors and 1,720 SSNIT pensioners. Mr Sakada said misinformation by some politicians, the refusal of some landlords to register their households and wiping away of code numbers on buildings, in addition to inadequate logistics and funding, were factors militating against the smooth implementation of the scheme in the district.

He said henceforth, new registration would attract a fee of 10,000 cedis with a three-month probation before applicants could receive their identity cards, which would be valid for only 12 months. Mr Maurice Fie, Board Chairman of the Scheme, said government's ultimatum to all districts to fast track the implementation of the scheme before the year ended was "a welcome news" because the system could not be perfected before the scheme takes off. He appealed to service providers to deliver promptly to allay the skepticism and suspicion of some segment of the public about the scheme. He said members would enjoy full complement of the scheme when the various district mutual schemes were networked.