The non-payment of service providers under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) continues to raise serious concerns, with the managers of the programme appearing to have thrown their hands up in despair.
Health facilities providing services to NHIS subscribers are struggling to remain in business as their suppliers cut credit lines because of non-payment for supplied goods.
The health facilities, including public hospitals, have threatened several times to deny NHIS card holders access to their facilities all because of the indebtedness of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), the managers of the scheme.
The pro-poor programme is currently at the intensive care unit, gasping for breath as its life support – the National Health Insurance Levy – component of the Value Added Tax (VAT) remains threatened through non-disbursement of funds.
The finance ministry is by law mandated to disburse funds to the NHIA from the VAT to enable the authority to pay service providers; and oftentimes this process is in abeyance, making the NHIS to tread on a slippery path, the outcome of which may be calamitous.
It is based on this clear and imminent danger that the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) issued a warning this week calling on the authority to put its house in order by promptly paying service providers.
The PSGH says it does not understand the continuous accumulation of arrears only for the Authority to invest in other activities that could be considered secondary, raising questions about the priority of the health insurance managers.
In recent times the authority has been constructing grandiose offices and carrying out massive biometric registration at a huge cost when at the same time its funding is dwindling.
We can only share in the sentiments of the pharmacists whose businesses are collapsing because of the reckless dissipation of resources by the managers of the scheme. Money meant for service providers are diverted for other purposes, including large payroll of mostly ruling party activists and serial callers.
If there should be any auditing of public sector workers, the NHIA should not escape scrutiny because billions are sunk into its activities with little results.
A visit to health facilities paints a pathetic picture of the NHIS card holders as most diseases are not covered by the scheme. Streamlining the entire scheme is not completely out of place.
We also find it problematic, the recent clamouring for increase in the health insurance levy by one percent by some unknown groups.
The additional increase is only going to be a burden on the already overstretched taxpayer and should not be entertained.
The present 2.5 percent levy and additional funding from SSNIT contributors can hardly be accounted for, with payments not forthcoming from the finance ministry.
Therefore if it becomes inevitable to raise funds for the scheme, the authority should explore the possibility of increasing the premiums by contributors. After all, beneficiaries would not want to shy away from paying a little more instead of relying on shortcuts to riches.
The NHIA should spread the burden of payment and allow subscribers to own it, otherwise the programme may not be able to survive for some time to come – largely not because of funding but particularly because of poor management.
Via: -Daily Guide
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