Biometric Registration, Excellent Initiative – MCE

Government has been commended for giving full backing to the Biometric Registration System adopted recently by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to ensure greater patronage.

Nii Ephraim, the Municipal Chief Executive for Effutu who made the commendation described the huge patronage attracted by the current biometric registration system as a real “magic wand” that could propel the policy for greater achievements.

Ghanaians, irrespective of political stand, should commend the Government for supporting this laudable initiative and stop the blind and purely partisan criticisms on the Health Insurance Policy.

Nii Ephraim, Effutu Municipal Chief Executive, was interacting with the press at Winneba after visiting the Effutu Municipal Office of the NHIA at the Weekend to acquaint himself with the operations of the Scheme.

He said that after carefully and critically examining the tremendous patronage the Biometric Registration system has chalked within the past ten months operation in the Municipality one can conveniently conclude that the current system is the best so far and should be maintained.

According to the MCE, what enthused him most was that the new system has completely abolished the three months waiting period which, hitherto, newly –registered members had to go through before getting their membership Cards.

Nii Ephraim was also hopeful that the new system would assist implementers of the Health Insurance Scheme to generate enough funds to support the Government settle medical bills submitted by the various Service Providers.

The MCE suggested to the management of the NHIA to equip all its branches with Radio-Link facilities to solve the networking challenges facing them.

Nii Ephraim disclosed that during his rounds he discovered that one of such equipment was being put in place at the Winneba Municipal Office of the NHIA and appealed to the Management of the NHIA to speed up work on the installation of the equipment to accelerate registration and renewal of ID Cards in the Municipality.

He said that the establishment of the University of Education in the area has automatically burdened the Municipal Assembly with additional and more responsibilities.

This Mr. Nii Ephraim said included the provision of excellent, affordable, and reliable healthcare facilities of which Health Insurance plays a key role.

For this reason, “my administration would offer the NHIA workers in the area needed moral support and encouragement to ensure maximum success of their operations, the MCE assured.

He advised them to maintain the highest form of excellent customer/worker relationship coupled with strong and prudent financial management to enable the scheme to maintain its position as the best scheme in the Central Region.

Mr. Nii Ephraim also used the occasion to draw the attention of Opinion leaders in the Municipality, especially Chiefs, Assembly members, and Religious leaders to sensitize the people regularly on domestic and environmental sanitation to reduce the outbreak of diseases in order to make the NHIA policy cost effective and sustainable for generations to.