NGO hails review of NHIS

The Universal Access to Healthcare Campaign, (UAHCC), a Non-Governmental Organization, has hailed the review of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to make it more sustainable.

The Campaign believes the review process would make the NHIS more robust to deal with issues of delay in reimbursement, fraud, and wastage and also help Ghana to achieve Universal Health Coverage.

Mr Archibald Adams, National Campaign Coordinator, UAHC, said this at the inauguration of a seven-member technical committee in Accra by Mr Alex Segbefia, the Minister of Health.

Mr Adams, said though the NHIS has made great progress, the current national coverage rate was only 38 per cent, and that, any effort by the government to review and strengthen the NHIS was welcome news.

“We have confidence in the ability of the members of the Committee to deliver and we will want to know of their recommendations when the work of the committee is over,” he added.

Mr. Adams encouraged the Committee to undertake the review process with particular focus on women, children and the disabled, and urged them to identify innovative means of financially sustaining the scheme.

He said a financially sustained and a reliable NHIS would give all Ghanaians access to healthcare without financial barriers and also address the inequalities in the Health Sector. It would also reduce the numerous needless deaths recorded each year.

On his part, Mr Segbefia, the Health Minister, said the restructuring, the first ever since the Scheme was set-up, would propose options for reform of the NHIS.

He said it was time to explore all other options of sustaining the scheme and to enhance its growth and expansion.

“This will require taking a holistic look at the Scheme to determine where weaknesses exist and propose solutions. The review process will seek to provide answers to questions such as the current status of the scheme in terms of its financial sustainability," he added.