NHIS moving by leaps and bounds: As 50,924 women access free maternal health care since July 1.

Since its inception, the National Health Insurance Scheme has been able to gradually boot out the insufferable cash and carry system of healthcare provision that plagued Ghanaians cruelly sometime ago.

Despite the challenges associated with the initial implementation of every good policy, the health insurance scheme continues to chalk successes that were originally not thought about.

The most recent is the introduction of free maternal healthcare delivery as a tributary to the original mutual health insurance policy which 50,924 pregnant women countrywide have already accessed.

Ashanti region registered the highest with a whooping 12,164, followed by Greater Accra, Central, Eastern and the Western Region with 8,211, 6843, 5,870 and 5,012 respectively. The others are 2,473 and 3,608 for the Upper East and West, Northern 2,720, 2,434 for Brong Ahafo with the Volta region registering the lowest of 1589 registered pregnant women.

The move, first announced by President John Agyekum Kufour, that all pregnant women should access maternal health services free of charge as a means of addressing Ghana's challenge in attainment of the fifth millennium development goal was launched on July 1st this year.

The free maternal health delivery system will reduce the maternal and child mortality in Ghana which is ranked very high among countries with high maternal mortality rates within the League of Nations.

The package allows all pregnant women not currently registered with the NHIS to benefit from exemptions from the payment of the NHIS premiums and payment of the registration charge plus a waiver of the waiting period between registration and accessing services.

In addition, women who reports at accredited health facilities with a pregnancy-related complication resulting in, arising from, miscarriage or abortion will be entitled to the same benefits whilst those with after delivery complications who delivered at home or in unaccredited health facility but appears at an accredited one will also be registered.

NHIS Boss, Ras Boateng, in explaining the registration procedure said the system will follow the original routine NHIS registration at the scheme's offices or NHIS desk at larger health facilities.

He encouraged pregnant women to register as early as possible in their pregnancy with the local district mutual health insurance scheme and assured that in situations where there are no registration desks at the health centers the pregnant mother would be denied service or be required to pay out of her pocket.

Aside the aforementioned benefits, Mr. Boateng added that, the free maternal healthcare benefit will also include ante and post natal care, care of the baby for up to three months on the mother's registration and all other medical problems arising through the year.