The Daily Graphic on Monday reported that the National Health Insurance Authority had indicated its preparedness to introduce the one-time health insurance premium by December this year.
When introduced Ghanaians are expected to pay a one-time premium in order to access health care regularly. According to the report this follows successful actuarial studies which support the feasibility of the one-time premium concept.
The Chief Executive of the NHIA, Mr Sylvester Mensah is said to have disclosed this in Tema after a clean-up exercise organised by the authority at the Tema General Hospital.
We at the Patriot are enthused that the NHIA has once again reiterated it commitment to make the one-time payment feasible. This is at a time when the health of most Ghanaians is deteriorating. In commending the authority, we strongly believe that the current trend whereby sick people who have registered under the system are not able to access health care delivery in hospitals because of huge government debts is devastating.
This worrying trend is greatly affecting the sick as the �Cash and Carry� system persists. What is more worrying is that some sick persons who go to hospitals with the NHIS cards are turned away hence aggravating their problems. For the few fortunate ones who are attended to, they are made to purchase expensive drugs outside the hospital.
It is in this regard that we call on Mr. Mensah to step up efforts to clear some of these debts to enable those who have registered under the scheme enjoy the system without fear or intimidation.
Another area where the Authority must also focus its attention is the numerous challenges confronting the scheme such as corruption and fraudulent claims, as well as falsification of claims by various service providers.
We are of the view that by tackling these challenges Ghanaians would be able to enjoy the system without nagging.
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