Stop Charging For Services Covered By NHIS - Health Minister Cautions Service Providers

Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman-Manu has warned health service providers to refrain from charging patients for services already covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to revive public confidence in the scheme. According to Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, the co-payment, a separate charge imposed by service providers for conditions already covered by the scheme had become a major challenge for the scheme, and called on service providers, particularly, the Ghana Health Service (GHS), to help address the situation. Co-payments have been banned.

The President hates to see poor patients being charged out of pocket for healthcare services, he said. Maternal services such as deliveries are supposed to be free, but some facilities are charging patients as high as GH¢1,000 for the service, and that is unacceptable. When it happens that way, to the end-user it will look as if the scheme is not working, he added. The minister said co-payments created a barrier to access, and so the Ministry was working to end the illegality through meaningful engagements.

Fortunately, the government has, in recent times, been doing well with timely payments. We have been doing frequent monthly payments in bits to ensure service providers get monies frequently. The arrears gap has been bridged over time. Service providers are owed about four or five months as compared to the situation that persisted some years back when they were owed 12 months and beyond. Service providers have therefore, no justification to indulge in co-payments.

The act amounts to extortion, and that is illegal, he said. The minister said the NHIS was still effective and continue to provide unfettered access to healthcare delivery. He said the government would continue to invest in the scheme, and added that the scheme had not shown any signs of crumbling. He also  called on managers of the GHS, who constitute about 70 percent of healthcare provider agencies under the ministry, to combat the canker that could make the NHIS unattractive.