The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has indicated it will pay two months arrears owed the Health Insurance Service Providers Association of Ghana (HISPAG) in March 2016.
In effect, HISPAG has agreed to reconsider taking cash from NHIS members when they present themselves at their facilities for healthcare services.
This follows an agreement reached by the leadership of HISPAG and NHIA after a meeting to deliberate on the way forward for claims reimbursement for NHIS service providers.
The NHIA currently owes services providers generally about five months above the agreed period totalling GH¢35m of unpaid claims.
A statement signed at the end of the meeting, among other things, agreed “that HISPAG shall continue to provide service to NHIS members while the NHIA works to settle a good part of the arrears in one month.”
It was also agreed that “HISPAG shall work with its members to resolve issues of compliance with NHIS procedures and processes that affect reimbursement of claims to providers.
The statement, initialed by Frank Torblu, Executive Director of HISPAG and Dr Anang Adjetey, Director of Corporate Affairs at the NHIA also mentioned that “the NHIA and other stakeholders shall continue to make the case for an even more improved flow of funds to facilitate provision of quality healthcare at NHIS credentialed facilities.”
At the meeting, the NHIA also committed to continue working with the Ministry of Health (MoH) to expedite action on the new NHIS medicines list and tariffs for services delivered under the NHIS.
The tariffs are jointly calculated and agreed on by the NHIA and various stakeholders, including service providers on how much the Authority pays for conditions and medicines covered under the scheme.
This is done periodically to ensure that prices the NHIA pays for its services reflect market realities. The medicines list and tariffs as agreed between the parties must then be approved by the MoH before implementation.
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