Chiefs urged to encourage subjects to join NHIS

Sekondi, June 7, GNA - Mr Emmanuel R. Okyere, Manager of the Sekondi Sub-Metropolitan Mutual Health Insurance Scheme, has asked chiefs and opinion leaders to show interest in the Scheme by encouraging their people to register as members.

Mr Okyere was speaking at the inauguration of an 11-member Board of Directors of the Mutual Health Insurance Scheme at Sekondi on Monday. The Board is under the chairmanship of Nana Ekra Kojo IV, Chief of Anaji.

Mr Okyere said the Scheme covered 90 communities in the sub-Metro and 50 agents were presently engaged in the registration of clients. He said so far, 21,237 people had registered but only 353 had fully paid up their premiums totalling 36.5 million cedis, while 6,904 were Social Security and National Insurance Trust Fund contributors. He mentioned the lack of logistics as a major problem hampering the smooth take off of the Scheme in the sub-metro. Mr Isaac Addai, Metropolitan Planning Officer, said 700 million cedis released by government to enhance the work of the Scheme in the Takoradi, Sekondi and Shama sub-metros was not adequate. Nana Kobina Nketsiah IV, Omanhene of Essikado, who presided, said education on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) should particularly target the rural poor.

He said without them the Scheme would not succeed, adding that, "The Scheme should be community owned to enable more people to embrace it"

He appealed to the management of the Scheme to simplify the language used on the registration forms to enable more people to understand it.