HEALTH INSURANCE SCHEME MUST SUCCEED

THE implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in the country about three years ago has brought some hope to a majority of our people through improvement in the healthcare delivery system.
The programme was introduced to replace the existing cash-and-carry system which was described as obstructing efficient healthcare delivery and overall national development.
However, with the introduction of the NHIS, all cannot be said to have been rosy, since a few people may have tasted the sour aspect of the new health financing system.
It must be noted that several diseases and ailments have been adequately catered for by the scheme, while provision has also been made for indigents, the aged, children and pregnant women who attend hospital free of charge.
In fact, testimonies from beneficiaries of the various District Mutual Health Insurance schemes (DHIS) are ample evidence of the scheme's success and usefulness in healthcare delivery, particularly with the introduction of the free medical care initiative for pregnant women.
However, since its implementation, the programme has attracted various criticisms, especially from those engaged in the political ball game. We must be mindful of the peddling of misinformation about the scheme in order not to throw away the baby with the bath water, just like the way we give a dog a bad name in order to hang it.
It must be acknowledged that any initiative or programme, to say the least, is bound to face teething challenges, for which reason we believe the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) was set up to ensure efficiency and accountability to sustain the scheme.
Even in certain advanced societies where such schemes have taken deep roots, they face similar criticisms over implementation, compelling certain people to call for their abolition.
Three years into the scheme is too short a time to draw effective evaluations but this is not to say that the NHIA should sleep over its duties.
Nonetheless, the authority must expedite action to correct the anomalies that have been identified with the scheme, such as delays in reimbursing service providers and the lack of networking to make for easy access in other parts of the country to set people’s minds at ease.
This will also allow those with the wait-and-see attitude to be proved wrong. But the NHIA should take steps to address concerns being raised from within its ranks because a house divided against itself cannot stand. It is against this background that the NHIA should not sweep the accusations under the carpet.
The situation where the district schemes continually accumulate debt to healthcare service providers needs to be addressed to reduce some of the disaffection that it causes. Delays in reimbursing these healthcare providers must be things of the past.
It is also taking very long for the NHIA to develop a central data system which is networked nationwide to facilitate easy access to the scheme across the length and breadth of the country. That way, it becomes easier for insurance card holders to access health care from any part of the country without having to go through any problem, as is being experienced by certain persons seeking healthcare services.