NHIA spends 128,578,851 Ghana cedis on claims
Accra, May 20, Ghanadot/GNA
– The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) on
Wednesday said it has released a total of 128,578,851.00
Ghana cedis to the various health insurance schemes in the
country for payment of claims between January and May 2009.
A statement signed by Mr Ras Boateng, Chief Executive of the
Authority said it represented the highest release per
similar periods since the inception of the National Health
Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
It said in releasing funds to the districts schemes for the
payment of claims, the NHIA had to ensure that the existing
financial management structures were adhered to, to protect
the taxpayers’ money.
It said as far as the Authority was concerned it had been
proactive in the release of funds to districts schemes for
the payment of claims especially after considering the due
diligence conducted before the release of the funds.
“Because of the unequal utilization of health services from
district to district, the law allows schemes to file for
re-insurance with the Authority anytime they are not able to
honour claims payment with their available resources.”
The Authority expressed surprise at recent media reports
that suggested that operations of some NHIS accredited
facilities were almost grinding to a halt as a result of
non-payment of medical claims.
“This comes against the backdrop of huge financial releases
made to the various schemes operating under the NHIS since
January this year.”
The statement explained that as was the approved practice,
the Authority releases quarterly subsidies to the various
schemes which were added to the premiums collected at the
district level to pay claims submitted by providers.
The Authority assured its stakeholders about its commitment
to the sustainability of the NHIS and will do all within its
power to ensure that schemes are paid moneys that they were
entitled to.
It stated that in order to better serve providers within the
NHIS, the Authority would appreciate feedback from them in
case schemes failed to honour their obligations to them and
advised that the media should not be used for matters that
could be resolved administratively.
GNA
