<<Print>>

Chief communication consultant of the National Health Insurance Authority, Eric Ametor Quarmyn has said that the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has started paying all its services providers including the Christian Health Association of Ghana. The Christian Health Association of Ghana has threatened to call off its services to the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) despite an appeal by Health Minister Sherry Ayittey for them to put on hold the refusal. The Health Minister had called on them to shelve their intended action as the Ministry of Finance is expected to release funds for the payment of the claims by Monday. According to Ametor Quarmyn, the agreement between the NHIA and its service providers is a ninety-day credit scheme, but due to lack of funds there has been a delay in their payment recently. �It is true we (NHIA) owe our service providers. The truth of the matter is that, the law that governs our work (Act 250) which was implemented in 2003 grants us to owe our service providers for just three months. The agreement we have with them is a ninety-day credit scheme which has been running since 2003 but it�s unfortunate we (NHIA) did not meet our needs this time,� he said. The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has initiated processes to ensure service providers across the country are paid. The NHIA has indicated that the payment has delayed because the Finance Ministry delayed in releasing funds. Speaking on an Accra-based Asempa FM, Eric Ametor Quarmyn indicated; �Since last Friday, we (the NHIA) started paying all our service providers. It�s not only Christian Health Association we have paid, we are paying the Private Service Providers (PSP) and we are also paying Government hospitals as well. We pay through a banking system; we don�t pay in cash so there might be a little delay during the banking process depending on where you are. Those in Accra normally gets theirs fast�. He further explained; �The money we use in this payment is from the National Health Insurance levy which is collated by Value Added Tax (VAT) and those monies don�t come direct to the NHIA. It goes to the Ministry of Finance and they have to reconcile before releasing the money and that sometimes delay. But since last Friday, the government has raised funds for the NHIA to pay its servicers providers. I hope by the end of the month we will clear all our old debts�. Ametor Quarmyn however pleaded with CHAG to call off its refusal to NHIA patients as payments of debts are underway. Meanwhile the executive director of CHAG Dr. Gilbert Buckle, says, although they welcome the intervention by government, they are not in the position to immediately call off their planned action. The group acts on behalf of 19 churches, which offer health care to an estimated 42 per cent of Ghanaians at their missionary hospitals across the country. The NHIA owes the 183 health facilities under the association, in excess of 50 million Ghana cedis as at the end of January 2013.