Help for private NHIS service providers at last

Private Service Providers under the National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS will have now be reimbursed within 24hours after submitting their claims.

This is coming after government was offered some assistance in the payment by Unibank in partnership with Philips and Medical Credit Fund. Under the initiative, the service providers are to tender their claims directly to Unibank for evaluation and subsequent payment.

Deputy Credit Fund Manager at UNIBANK, Tornam Sapati tells JOY BUSINESS, the initiative is part of the bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility to grow the country’s Private Health Insurance sector.

“We sought to make some intervention in the private health sector of Ghana. Much of the intervention has been in the public sector and we’ve realized the private sector was under-serviced and under-financed and so we saw an opportunity there”

The project was launched after a two-year pilot with selected service providers. Here’s Managing Director of the Medical Credit Fund, Monique Dolfing also shedding more light on their role in the initiative.

“The Medical Credit Fund is part of the Pharm Access Group aimed at helping to improve financing in the health care sector in Africa. The fund specifically aims to bridge the gap between bankers and health care providers as the latter are perceived as a high risk for the former so it’s very difficult for the providers to borrow money and invest in quality care and that’s what we’re trying to help” she said.

The Private Health Insurance Providers earlier this year ceased extending their service to patients on the NHIS following the failure of the National Health Insurance Authority to settle its debts to them. The authority meanwhile says it is still paying the arrears to health service providers.