A group calling itself, the Coalition of Health Care Monitors, today demonstrated in the Volta Regional Capital of Ho, over what they term as the deterioration of the National Health Insurance Scheme in the Region.
The demonstration dubbed “Mie Kukum” to wit “we’re dying” was to draw government’s attention to the issue.
[contextly_sidebar id=”86H79Rb8F8ucCrGndjSM54xJ7vp4dzTn”]The MP for Ho Central, Benjamin Kormla Kpodo, in his address to the demonstrators, called on the government to immediately pay all health facilities in arrears.
“Today’s peace march is to demonstrate very strong support for the National Health Insurance Scheme. We want to send a signal that we support the National Health Insurance Scheme. But we don’t want it to be functioning like this. Former President Rawlings started the NHIS on the pilot basis, then former President Kuffour came and made it national and we are paying dutiful, social security and National Insurance are contributing toward the scheme so there is money for the scheme to operate,”
“That is why we are asking that the money should be given to the NHIS so that they can pay the health service providers,” he said.
Last year the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) CEO, Dr. Samuel Annor said the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) may not exist as we know it in 12 months time because of its financing challenges.
According to the CEO, the scheme had run out of funds to operate, he said the scheme had zero reserves and owed service providers huge sums of money and appealed for ways of getting funds to defray their debts.
He appealed to the government to increase the VAT component of the NHIS from 2.5 per cent to at least 3.5 per cent so that the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) would have the needed funds to manage the scheme properly.