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The Ranking Member on the Health Committee of Parliament, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has asked the government to clear debts owed health facilities that render services under the National Insurance Scheme (NHIS) across the country with urgency.
He said, since July 2021 to date, the government has failed to pay the money owed to the hospitals and clinics that have accepted to render services to Ghanaians.
Mr Akandoh noted that the unpaid hospitals are beginning to threaten to stop rendering services to the patients, a situation he said would seriously affect the ordinary Ghanaian who depends on National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
“Hospitals, where you take your health insurance card to for medical attention, are all threatening to stop providing services to subscribers. All they are saying is that since July 2021 till date the government has not paid them,” Mr Akandoh said.
“When you buy water, you pay National Health Insurance levy and everything else you buy, you are taxed. That money is the most reliable and the law states that after 30 days of accruing the money, the government should give it to the National Health Insurance Authority to defray the cost of services provided. But for 7 months they have not been paid,” he added.
It would be recalled that the Minister for Health, Kwaku Agyemang Manu during a press briefing on Wednesday, February 9, 2022, stated that the government had paid a total of GH₵1.04 billion to the NHIA for claims submitted to the Ministry for the period up to June last year.
According to him, arrears owed at the time covered four months only due to the leave period given to the Ministry to ensure that claims submitted were verified.
“The good thing is that if you take into consideration the normal leave time for payment for three months where providers submit claims, the law gives us three months to check to see the efficiency of the claims they are bringing to us. If you take into consideration of that three months between June and now [July to January], that’s seven months. Take away the three leave months, effectively, we are owing 4 months arrears,” the Minister explained.
However, according to Ranking Member who is MP for Juaboso Constituency, the government has failed to act in time to clear the arrears and in addition failed to account for the money paid to the Authority.
“The law demands that after every payment made to the Authority, the Minister comes to account to Parliament how they were able to fund that. Ever since Ken Ofori Atta became Minister, he has never presented himself to the house to respond to questions despite the numerous filed questions and summons.”
He has however assured that the Minority will do its best to ensure that the government pays the debts.
