SAVE NHIS NOW (FEB 4, 2010)

THE implementation of health financing schemes in most parts of the globe has always been constrained by challenges, although the essence of a health financing scheme is to provide access to health care for all at a cheaper cost.
Since the introduction of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in the country, it has been bedevilled by widespread misuse of funds by certain scheme managers.
It is everybody’s expectation that if the challenges facing the NHIS are addressed and everybody is encouraged to pay the premium, out-of-pocket expenses on health care will reduce considerably.
Reforming the healthcare financing plan is not limited to cost-cutting but also efforts at promoting preventive care, instead of curative care.
In spite of the challenges, the Daily Graphic believes that efforts should be intensified by the government to weed out the bad lots who are bent on destroying the scheme.
There have been reports in the media in recent days of unpaid bills to health facilities such as hospitals because of the mismanagement of the funds.
The inefficiencies in the system have led to a situation where some premium holders are losing confidence in the scheme.
The government ought to take advantage of the financial audit of the NHIS to clear the system of all those who exploited the system for personal gain.
No matter the bottlenecks in the system, premium holders who have accessed health care under the scheme testify to its advantages over the cash-and-carry system.
It is in this context that the Daily Graphic endorses the appeal by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to the public for support in its operations to provide equitable health care for all.
Health care is a major necessity of life, for which reason public interest in any endeavour to provide the people with affordable health financing schemes should be supported.
Consequently, media attention and scrutiny will equally be intense, but if that happens, officials at the NHIA should do their best to make information available to the public.
Journalists also owe it a responsibility not to be reckless in their reportage about the scheme but cross-check their facts in order not to erode public confidence in the scheme with inaccurate and bias reportage.
The Daily Graphic urges the Chief Executive of the NHIA, Mr Sylvester Mensah, to strengthen the monitoring mechanisms of the authority so that the loopholes that certain unscrupulous persons exploit will be blocked.
The attainment of the objective of the scheme will not be easy, as the holders are many, but with determination and the will to make the scheme viable, trust will be reposed in the officials managing it.
The Daily Graphic thinks that one major challenge that should be surmounted now is the delay in the reimbursement of service providers.
The delay in paying service providers threatens the future viability of the scheme and unless the NHIA is broke, the authorities should pay service providers to empower them to offer health care to the people.
The Daily Graphic is worried at the level of embezzlement of funds at most district mutual health insurance schemes.
We wonder whether the right type of orientation was given to the people recruited to man the schemes, whether they were recruited on merit or just for their patronage.
The Daily Graphic calls on the authorities at the NHIA not to limit the overhaul of the scheme to financial audit but also look at total restructuring of the scheme to ensure that only competent personnel are maintained to deliver quality health care to the people.