NPP Defends NHIA Boss

Should the Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Sylvester Mensah opt for spokespersons to defend him, obviously, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) would be one of the options to consider, as officials of the party have referred to as misplaced; calls for the NHIA boss� removal. According to the NPP, the NHIA boss should not be sacrificed on the altar of mismanagement for the woes of the scheme, which has recently gain media attention following decision by the Christian Health Association of Ghana to suspend medical services to the scheme cardholders over GH� 50 million arrears owed them. This development triggered calls by some sections of the public; many of which were NDC sympathizers for the head of Mr. Sylvester Mensah to roll, for reasons that he has run down the scheme. But Speaking on Joy FM�s flagship program Newsfile over the weekend, the Communication Director of the opposition New Patriotic Party, Nana Akomea flatly disagrees, noting that, it was wrong for anybody to fault the authority, let alone Mr. Mensah for the crisis of the scheme, a view highly supported by another apologist of the NPP and Managing Editor of the New Crusading Guide, Abdul Malik Kwaku Baako. �The problem is due to government�s failure, that is the simplest explanation�it is not the fault of the National Health Insurance Authority. The problem is that the money that should be transferred to the authority to pay the hospitals is not being transferred, that is the problem because the government is using the money for something else,� he stated. The former Okaikoi South MP, who superintended over his party�s communication�s team to bastardize the scheme and accused the NHIS authorities for mismanagement in a bid to hoodwink people in voting for them in the 2012 election, stated that the challenges facing the scheme should be blame on government, alleging, the current administration is hoarding funds from the Authority, and misapplying the money due them. �The problem with Ametor-Quarmyne (Communications Consultant to the Authority) and his boss (Sylvester Mensah) is that they are the ones who defend when actually they are the victims. You are not getting your money, when there is a complaint you are rather defending, you also should be complaining.� The National Health Insurance Levy mandates government to take two and half per cent of VAT and pay same to the authority within 30 days. But Mr. Akomea wondered why government would wait for issues to get out of hand before going to the aid of the scheme. Abdul-Malik Kwaku Baako on his part, though argued against claims that the scheme is collapsing, he nevertheless, noted �I find it intriguing that we are not sitting here talking about excess expenditure relative to the National Health Insurance, a critical area of social life, of human life, brought down by bureaucratic inertia, managerial inefficiency, it ought not to happen.� Also contributing to the issue to the program, Mr. Eric Ametor-Quarmyne, Communications Consultant of the NHIA apologized to subscribers who were affected by the withdrawal of services and promised it would never happen again. He stressed that persons calling for the dismissal of his boss were not seized with the facts, insisting, if Mr. Mensah was that incompetent, he would have been shown the exit by his employers even before the call for his removal.