Private Hospitals in Kumasi demand cash from NHIS card holders

Private hospitals in the Ashanti regional capital Kumasi are demanding cash from patients who have National Health Insurance Cards.

This is in spite of a directive by the Health Insurance Authority that all cases from public hospitals should be absorbed by the mission and private hospitals following the strike by doctors.

LUVFM’s Erastus Asare Donkor has been to some of the private hospitals in Kumasi and reports some of them are applying a co-payment policy where NHIS card holding patients are being asked to pay part of the cost of treatment.

Worse still, those who are using the NHIS cards are not being given any priority at all, he added.

Asare Donkor said those with cash are treated with speed and with the necessary urgency.

Some of the patients said they are feeling the impact of the strike because nobody is there to attend to them.

A woman who suffered a stroke said she had to sell some belongings to be able to raise some money to go to the hospital.

Meanwhile, the Health Insurance Service Providers Association of Ghana has justified the decision to adopt a cash and carry system for NHIS subscribers.

Executive Director of HISPAG, Frank Toblu told Joy News the NHIA owes the private hospitals over 125 million Ghana cedis in claims and capitation which makes it impossible for them to take any more debts.

"The private hospitals are saying that in the past when we saw people under emergency situations you refused to pay. Now that you have an emergency you are now asking us to take care of the people," Mr Toblu protested.

He said government should come clear on how the payment module will be before any arrangement will be made.